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.
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.
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
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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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
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
THURSDAY'S FIXTURES
4pm Maratha Arabians v Northern Warriors
6.15pm Deccan Gladiators v Pune Devils
8.30pm Delhi Bulls v Bangla Tigers
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
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.
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The specs
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
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
Sri Lanka's T20I squad
Thisara Perera (captain), Dilshan Munaweera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ashan Priyanjan, Mahela Udawatte, Dasun Shanaka, Sachith Pathirana, Vikum Sanjaya, Lahiru Gamage, Seekkuge Prasanna, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay and Chathuranga de Silva.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Meydan racecard:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (PA) Group 1 | US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) Listed | $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) Conditions | $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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