Meet The Designer Who Can Find The Perfect Piece Of Jewelry For You

Emirati fine-jewelry designer Salama Khalfan is not what she calls ‘the cookie-cutter type’, and neither is the atelier for her eponymous brand. Tucked away just a few blocks from Dubai’s turquoise beachfront, the space transports you out of the desert sun and into a little slice of Paris.

Enveloped in hand-painted, gold floral wallpaper, Khalfan can usually be found sitting at her curved marble desk in the back corner, jotting down ideas and sketches for her next design. She explains: “My favorite piece is whichever one I’m currently working on because I obsess over it; I think about it, I wake up in the middle of the night and try to sketch it.” But today she’s sitting at the coffee table next to a brick-lined fireplace, with her freshly groomed and impeccably behaved poodle, Winston, at her side.

“The store is designed in a very welcoming way that gives me the opportunity to connect with the client one on one,” Khalfan explains. Visits are by appointment only, and the minimal display areas are intentional so that clients don’t feel intimidated. It’s through this kind of an exchange that Khalfan believes a perfect jewelry match is made.

Her love of horse riding is evident in the boutique’s subtle equestrian flair: there are stacks of books on the topic, and a horse-bit tattoo peeks out from under Khalfan’s sleeve as she demonstrates how one pair of fan-shaped earrings, encrusted with garnets and diamonds, can be worn five different ways. She says, “When you’re on the back of a horse, it’s very difficult to think about anything else. You’re in the moment and you really learn to focus on one thing at a time.”

Before she even thought about starting her own business, Khalfan had made a piece of jewelry for herself featuring the same horse-bit symbol as her tattoo. When others began asking where they could buy one for themselves, a flame was ignited. She had been working in the corporate world in Abu Dhabi for more than a decade, and although she found this work challenging and rewarding, the higher up the ladder she climbed, the further removed she felt from her true self.

It was during her first-ever attempt to make jewelry that Khalfan rediscovered facets of her identity she’d been neglecting – like how much she enjoyed expressing herself creatively on a canvas when she was growing up, and the way she would gaze at the bracelets and rings left out on her mother’s dresser as a child. She decided to leave her job to focus on developing three full collections and launched them in 2014, one of which is centered around a lucky horseshoe emblem.

Khalfan recalls: “They say the easiest way to find your purpose in life is to remember the things you used to do as a child. I wanted to go back to my roots, to my essence, and it was the best decision I ever made.”

She has since expanded her line across the Gulf region, Europe and the US. Her signature modular pieces are made for busy women who want something practical yet eye-catching to accompany them from morning to night. Khalfan is especially plugged in to what her clientele wants, thanks to a side hustle at Marie Claire Arabia – she was appointed editor-at-large for the magazine earlier this year and works closely with the title’s editor-in-chief to contribute to its fashion, beauty, social and celebrity content.

It is perhaps this editorial eye that ensures every detail of her designs is meticulously considered, from earring add-ons that up the ante to extra clasps that can convert rings into clever pendants for when “you don’t want to have any bling showing”. There’s a sense of open-endedness to these designs – each one a story for the wearer to finish.

“It’s important that people find one or more elements that they can connect with on a personal level,” Khalfan says, echoing the theme of intimacy. “My journey is not about putting more jewelry into the market; it’s about creating pieces of wearable art.”