When you travel along Al Wahda Street, the heart of shopping in Sharjah, like as not, you may miss the modest shop selling crystal ware, a few buildings away from eating hotspot, Karachi Durbar.
You cannot be blamed if you do miss it: its owner, Lebanese national Samir El-Hakam, is as modest as the façade of his shop.
But the contents of the store are far from being modest: flamboyant could be just the word to describe the quality and quantity contents of its display.
Cristal Stores, as the shop is known to both connoisseurs and wannabe customers of fine crystal, is home to some seriously amazing decorative glass work, including bright chandeliers, silky bowls and proud vases.
Their beckoning presence is the result of skills that have been honed through forty years and more which El-Hakam has spent in the crystal ware business.
He is now a sprightly senior citizen whose generous outlook on life is still strong. Many are the ones who have left his shop with a gift! He is the owner of Cristal Stores Ltd. and runs it with his daughter, Dima El-Hakam.
Cristal Stores is the first of its kind in Sharjah, being established in 1977. “I arrived in the Emirates – then the Trucial States – in 1970”, says El-Hakam, remembering the early days. “In Lebanon, my family knew people in the Czech Embassy in Beirut. They asked me to move here and explore the market and open a crystal ware shop here”.
Earlier, he had an agency and office in Lebanon, from where he used to source chandeliers from the then Czechoslovakia, Spain and Germany. Goods were sold to areas in and around Beirut. In the circumstances, it was a big leap even to consider moving to the UAE.
“During 1970 – 77”, El-Hakam recalls, “my customers were Iranians, Pakistanis and Indians. They were used to seeing crystal in their home countries. The locals did not have much idea about it then”. But as the years went by, they would be among his best customers.
Now his client base has expanded to include Emiratis and Egyptians also, among others, and source countries include, apart from the Czech Republic, places like Italy and Spain. “We have all nationalities shopping with us”, says El-Hakam. “We are well known, since, after all, we were the first to be here and developed the market for crystal goods”.
According to him, climate does not play any part in the brilliance of crystal. It fits into any country, anywhere, and the desert or its aridity does not affect it.
How does one know genuine crystal from the fake? “From the shine!” says Dima. “For example, Chinese crystal, though available in large quantities, is not of fine quality, since it does not have a good shine”. She has a liking for Baccarat, the finest crystal in world, of French origin.
Baccarat Crystal manufactures fine crystal glassware and is located in Baccarat, France. It began when, in 1764, King Louis XV of France gave permission to found a glassworks in the town of Baccarat in the Lorraine region of eastern France.
Amazing grace
Bohemian glass, chiefly referred to as Bohemian crystal, is glass produced in the regions of Bohemia and Silesia, now parts of the Czech Republic. It has a centuries-long history of being internationally recognised for its high quality, craftsmanship, beauty and innovative design.
Hand-cut, engraved, blown and painted decorative glassware ranging from enormous chandeliers to ornaments, figurines and other glass items, are among the best known Czech exports and immensely popular as tourist souvenirs. The Czech Republic is home to numerous glass studios and schools attended by local and foreign students.
Bohemia became famous for its beautiful and colourful glass during the Renaissance. In the 16th century, the term Bohemian crystal emerged for the first time in history to distinguish its qualities from glass coming from other places.
Czech glassware became as prestigious as jewellery and was sought after by the wealthy and the aristocracy of the time. Czech crystal chandeliers could be found in the palaces of the French king Louis XV and Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria.
Today, Czech crystal chandeliers hang in Milan’s La Scala, Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera, in Versailles, in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg and in the royal palaces in Riyadh.
The company, besides producing quality crystal ware, also owns two museums: the Musee Baccarat in Baccarat and the Musee Baccarat in Paris. It is a subsidiary of the United States company Starwood Capital Group. According to Dima, a plus point of the company is that it brings out new and innovative models.
But if the climate does not affect crystal, the market cycle does influence it. Crystal, like any other product, is also subject to boom and bust laws and right now, says El-Hakam, business is not so good.
But looking back he has no regrets, only satisfactions. “I am happy in this line!” he says. “I don’t like any other business!” How about opening a crystal museum or a training centre here?
“We train our staff!” El-Hakam says. “And setting up a museum may not be possible, since it is so costly”. Though he feels the need for one, he does not think putting up a factory here will be viable. “People prefer original sources”, he says. “I think they would like to get their material from, for example, the Czech Republic, than buy goods produced here”.
He has rubbed shoulders with people like Daniel Swarovski, founder of ‘Swarovski’, the Austrian company forever linked with the production of crystal ware. You can find the name ‘Swarovski’ embossed behind El-Hakam’s chair also, to which he proudly points out.
Daniel Swarovski’s father was a glass cutter and owned a small glass factory. It was there that the young Swarovski served an apprenticeship, becoming skilled in the art of glass-cutting. In 1892, he patented an electric cutting machine that facilitated the production of crystal glass.
In 1895, he founded the Swarovski company along with his partners and established a crystal-cutting factory in Wattens, Austria, to take advantage of local hydroelectricity for the energy-intensive grinding processes he had patented. Swarovski’s vision was to make “a diamond for everyone” by making crystals affordable.
“Our import and export procedures are smooth”, El-Hakam says, turning back from a reverie. “Also, we do not have much breakage problems, since we are careful in packing our products”.
Many mosques in the UAE - more than 120, in fact - buy chandeliers from Cristal Stores. Currently, it is also decorating the royal reception hall in Bahrain international airport.
Does El-Hakam have any advice for dealers? “I do not need to give advice anyone who deals in crystal!” he says. “They are well aware of their business. They also don’t need my advice perhaps!”
El-Hakam, it is obvious, is someone who is crystal clear about life’s priorities.
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When you travel along Al Wahda Street, the heart of shopping in Sharjah, like as not, you may miss the modest shop selling crystal ware, a few buildings away from eating hotspot, Karachi Durbar.