The road was not easy for Saudi Arabia’s Dana Alalami as she forged her way through the world of gold and jewelry in 2006. Amid fierce competition in the Kingdom’s prestigious gold industry, she managed to become the first woman to own a gold and jewelry factory in the Saudi Arabia.
Alalami set up her diamond company in 2014 and began to make appearances at international exhibitions, such as in Hong Kong, Basel, Geneva and other cities throughout the world.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, she expressed her great optimism in the future of investment in gold and jewelry, acknowledging, however, that the novel coronavirus pandemic has affected the sector because the majority of global exhibitions have come to a halt.
In July, Forbes magazine ranked Alalami fifth out of Saudi Arabia’s ten most successful businesswomen. The publication last year ranked her 29th in the Women Behind Middle Eastern Brands power-list. This year she jumped to 24th place, and fifth throughout Saudi Arabia.
This leap, she explained, helped propel her towards global success, whereby she took part in an auction in Dubai, the first of its kind in the Middle East. The event rivaled famed international auctions, such as Christie's and Sotheby’s.
Alalami is a member of the precious metals and gems traders committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and a member of the national precious metals committee at the Saudi Chamber of Commerce.
“Regardless of the challenges facing my generation, the one that preceded mine and the one that will follow, I am confident that the Saudi woman is capable of achieving success and reaching the international stage in all fields,” Alalami said.
Alalami studied computer science at the King Saud University in Riyadh. Her passion, however, drove her towards the world of gold and jewelry. “The secret,” she said in a word of advice to those seeking to enter the industry, “lies in searching for what sets one apart in any field, regardless of what it may be.”