"If one studies the history of mankind closely one discovers that our contemporary attitude to diamonds or other such precious gems, comes in fact from the earliest attitudes towards power and the expression of it,"

Nabil explains, delighted to elaborate. "First there was the stick by which one man asserted his authority over another. This gave way to the sceptre; to which were added the feathers and hides from the spoils of hunting, making them symbols of the power and strength of those who had acquired them. Much later the diamond was added to the sceptre, and so began the association as I see it between precious stones - diamonds in particular, and the outward display or demonstration of power; particularly in a financial sense today.

"What fascinates me about diamonds is that they exude a very real sense of power for the individual who possess them (perhaps because of their intrinsic worth)" he continues. "As a jeweller you in turn pass this power on to the next person, and so it goes on, sometimes from generation to generation. There is an eternal power related to stones such as diamonds because they will outlive us all. There is an immortality attached to the entire procedure of buying or acquiring the biggest and best quality stones available. It's as though you are passing on a piece of yourself to the next generation."

The Tabbah tradition for dealing in some of the most magnificent precious stones goes back over two centuries, to 1862 when Y. Tabbah opened his first jewellery store in Lebanon. The roots of the family, and its involvement in dealing with quality products however, stem back a further four hundred years and the opening up of trade-links between Asia Minor, Europe and the Far East. Initially, involved in the highly specialised craft of silk weaving, the forefathers of today's Tabbah empire expanded into the engraving of precious metals when France became the recognised centre of silk weaving.