Nohma Kaaki, founder of Nohma Design, wearing her Celestial Module as a ring. Photo: Nohma Design
Nohma Kaaki, founder of Nohma Design, wearing her Celestial Module as a ring. Photo: Nohma Design
Nohma Kaaki, founder of Nohma Design, wearing her Celestial Module as a ring. Photo: Nohma Design
Nohma Kaaki, founder of Nohma Design, wearing her Celestial Module as a ring. Photo: Nohma Design

From Jordanian royals to Emily in Paris, architect Nohma Kaaki is going places with her jewellery brand


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  • Arabic

A decade ago, architect and urban planner Nohma Kaaki set out to design a piece of jewellery for herself – something sculptural, personal and unlike anything she had seen before.

What emerged from her experiment was the Celestial Module, a three-dimensional trapezoidal form inspired by the way constellations trace shapes and symbols across the sky. “We’ve seen horoscopes,” Kaaki says. “But for me, this was more universal. That’s why I called it a ‘module’, because it could be anything. It wasn’t just a ring.”

Originally 3D-printed in plastic, the prototype caught the attention of several passersby. “It was worth nothing,” she explains. “But the aesthetics made people stop me and ask about it”.

In 2015, a man approached her, asking to commission the piece as a proposal ring. Only later did she learn it was for a member of the Jordanian royal family.

The Celestial Module by Nohma Design. Photo: Nohma Design
The Celestial Module by Nohma Design. Photo: Nohma Design

That moment marked the beginning of Nohma Design, which quickly garnered critical acclaim. Within a year of launching, Kaaki won the Middle East Jewellery Awards. Her designs, rooted in architectural principles and the mathematical Golden Ratio, feel both precise and poetic – bold, yet skillfully balanced.

Now crafted in solid gold, the Celestial Module is as versatile as it is symbolic. It can be worn on any finger, as a pendant, earring, or even as a bracelet. With a mirrored counterpart – the two halves are called Zenith and Nadir – worn together, the shapes evoke butterfly wings; reversed, they resemble a shield. “Being Lebanese and from a turbulent part of the world, last summer I felt like being in a defensive mode,” she says.

When scaled down, the module takes on echoes of the Tree of Life – whether a Lebanese cedar, an olive tree, or a palm. Even the packaging for the brand reflects the colours of her upbringing: Phoenician purple lines the interior – an homage to the ancient dye discovered on the shores of Tyre, Lebanon – while the outer shell comes in cedar green or golden orange, symbolising the sunlit dunes of the UAE, where she was raised.

Four pieces from Nohma Design's modular collection. Photo: Nohma Design
Four pieces from Nohma Design's modular collection. Photo: Nohma Design

Her pieces, some recently featured in Emily in Paris, aren’t designed for mass appeal, she explains. “It’s meant to be niche,” she says. “Like a hidden gem. People need to find it.”

Kaaki invites the wearer into the creative process. “I give you the jewellery as a blank canvas. You become the artist.” Each design is adaptable, deeply personal and expressive. A dual-wear earring, for example, can be worn as a minimalist stud, or with an added blade-like element that cuts behind the ear. “It’s not just about personality, it’s about emotion.”

Her method is as labour-intensive as her vision is clear, every piece begins with a 3D-printed wax model, then cast in gold. “It’s not the typical way of doing things. The manufacturing cost is more than triple the cost, but it allows a human element, a high level of finishing.”

The many surfaces of the design become a canvas for diamonds or engravings to mark anniversaries, births, or even just prose. “It becomes a legacy,” she says. “It’s very personal.”

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

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The bio

Who inspires you?

I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist

How do you relax?

Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.

What is favourite book?

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times

What is your favourite Arabic film?

Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki

What is favourite English film?

Mamma Mia

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
While you're here
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5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

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B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

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Name: Enhance Fitness 

Year started: 2018 

Based: UAE 

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Amount raised: $3m 

Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors 

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Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.

Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.

The%20specs
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Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
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8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,200m

8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m

9.25pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) | 2,000m

10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m

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Updated: May 27, 2025, 10:02 AM