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Our Story

THE MATTAR FAMILY AND PEARLS

Before the discovery of oil, the majority of our forefathers in the Arabian Gulf - in fact our countries’ entire economy - revolved around natural pearl diving and trading. Of those original pearl merchants, only a handful of families remain today, driven by a deep love and passion for the trade.

Our family, bin Mattar, is one of those families. Indeed, this trade has been a part of us for more than 170 years. Our dedication and continued success comes down to the fact that we are based in the land between two seas abundant with precious pearls; the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Mattar Jewelers

Mattar Jewelers is a respected Bahraini family business with roots that go back several generations. The company specializes in crafting exquisitely fine jewelry and products made from natural pearls, and began developing unprecedented ways in incorporating pearls in unique pieces, with the aim of restoring these jewels to their former glory.

The company is driven by its belief that natural pearls being the jewels of immortality - are humanity’s original and ultimate jewel.

Through the Ages

Carrying a pearl legacy since the late 1850s, the Mattar family became a name synonymous with the natural pearl trade across the globe.

  • 1850  
  • 1st generation

    According to old documents dating from the 1850’s, our ancestor Hussain bin Salman bin Mattar switched from trading in palm dates and timber to trading in natural pearls, thus becoming the family’s original pearl merchant. His two sons, Salman and Mohammed, later inherited their father’s business.

  • 1901  
  • 2nd generation

    Salman bin Hussain bin Mattar exhibited an extraordinary talent in the natural pearl trade, quickly establishing himself as one of the most eminent and successful traders of his era. Over the course of his lifetime, he forged close bonds with the customers and merchants who came from across the globe.

  • 1940  
  • 3rd generation

    Salman bin Hussain bin Mattar’s three sons, Ebrahim, Ahmed, and Abdulaziz followed their father and grandfather’s path and continued in trade, but Abdulaziz opted to leave the family business some years later.

  • 1960  
  • 4th generation

    After the discovery of oil, the number of people working in the natural pearl trade dwindled, among them the sons of Ahmed, but the sons of Ebrahim stayed on. Among the most prominent of these sons were Khalifa and Yousif, the latter of whom was later forced to quit the business due to an eye ailment. Khalifa, however, persevered and managed to accumulate a substantial collection of fine and rare pearls, earning him the nickname “The Collector of the Jiwan” (or fine pearls) before passing away in 1997.

  • 1990  
  • 5th generation

    After the passing of Khalifa bin Ebrahim bin Mattar, his only son Ebrahim decided not to let the family business end with him, so he promptly quit his government job to devote himself entirely to the pearl trade. In 1998, he opened an office specializing in trading pearls which quickly became a much-frequented locale by sailors and divers looking to sell their haul and learn more about the pearl trade.

  • 2000s  
  • 6th generation

    In 2002, Talal followed the footsteps of his father Ebrahim and joined him in the pearl trade. Together, they expanded the business by adding pearl jewelry to its line of products, having been prior to that focused solely on the wholesale of pearl beads and necklaces. In September 2004, they opened Mattar Jewelers: the House of Natural Pearls.

    In 2007, female members of the Mattar family joined the business for the first time, joining their brother Talal, and adding their own distinctive concepts and creations, starting with Reem, and later Faten in 2014 and Lubna in 2015. Together, they will pass on the legacy to the upcoming seventh generation.

     
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