A hidden gem Discovering Dima Rashid’s jewelry

Dima Rashid was just like many women in the Middle East — unbelievably talented but unable to use or hone her skills and talents due to a busy life and domestic duties. Most women are like hidden gems that need to be dusted and polished to reveal a diamond from within. Such was Dima’s story.
Dima is a Palestinian who was born in Kuwait and raised in Riyadh. She studied political science and anthropology in Toronto, got married and moved to Gaza. In 2000, after the first Palestinian Intifada she moved to Cairo with her husband and four children.
“I have always had something for gemstones, my father used to collect gems and had some very rare pieces, I remember I was saving my allowance when I was living in Toronto to go to an antique shop owned by an old French lady to buy some gems to add to my small collection. When I moved to Cairo my kids were so young, I wasn’t even thinking of working, and the way I started my jewelry designing journey is so funny and spontaneous,” Dima recalls.
Explaining how she started her designing career, she said: “You see I had a friend, she was pregnant with a medical condition, doctors advised bed rest to her. I was vacationing with my family in London, where I visited a beads shop to buy her a kit so that she could make little bracelets and necklaces for me and my friends and enjoy her time whilst she is in bed. I was planning to stay at the beads store for 30 minutes and then continue shopping elsewhere but what happened is I was mesmerized by the beauty of the beads and threads. I stayed there until they literally had to kick me out. I went back again the next day as I learned they give jewelry making classes. I bought everything you can imagine and started that course. I was in this strange phase where all I wanted to do was to learn about jewelry. I got back to Cairo, locked myself up for about a month doing nothing but watching CD tutorials and trying to create pieces. I dropped 10 kg as I was not even eating. It was as though I was under a spell and it gave me a serene feeling that no meditation can.”
Dima started with rosaries. She went to one of the best goldsmiths in Egypt and asked him to teach her special techniques. “I started making jewelry for myself and my daughters, then my friends and acquaintances started asking me to do pieces for them. I found myself left with a huge order list and had to go back to buy lots of gems and after three months I started selling to people,” she said.
“I am crazy about bedouins and gypsies. I collaborated with a famous goldsmith who crafted for me the skeleton earrings and rings. I started working with gemstones, it costed me a lot and I took the money from my husband, who helped me a lot as he loves art and thinks jewelry making is a form of art. He wanted to make me happy and believed it was just a phase I am passing through and then I will eventually get bored, but that didn’t happen. After that I threw my very first trunk show ever, I hated it though, I realized I am not a business person at all. I got depressed and decided that it was all a mistake, and that I will just stick with making jewelry for me, my mother and my daughters only.”
“After that unsuccessful trunk show, I traveled with my family to Paris for a holiday. I was having dinner at a restaurant at the hotel I was staying in. Suddenly, a beautiful blonde with crazy hair approached me and asked to have a closer look at my earrings. She asked me from where they were. I told her I made them myself. Next morning I was paid a visit by an unexpected guest — Natasha Fraiser, editor in chief of Harper Bazaar and Marie Claire Europe! She said that she wanted my jewelry pieces, one as a gift for John Galliano. She then asked me to do more pieces and helped me to get into seven of London’s biggest shops all in one day.
“That gave me a lot of confidence and courage. I called up Carol Wellington, the editor in chief of British Vogue, and asked for a meeting. I went to the magazine’s office where they were working on an issue that was to have supermodel Gisele Bündchenshe as the cover girl. The stylists went crazy over my stuff and Gisele herself chose a piece from my collection to wear for the cover photo. I was so afraid to even buy the magazine, I didn’t even tell anyone at that time as I was in a state of shock.
“Things started to get even better, when Barney’s New York approached me to sell at their iconic outlet. I was the first ever in the history of Barney’s to have the pieces chosen by photos only and not by samples. I did some collaborations and big shows in England. Then I was asked to make jewelry for the premiere of Ocean’s Eleven. Celebrities started wearing my pieces. Some of these stars include Naomi Campbell, Julian Moore, Eva Mendes, Eva Langoria, Demi Moore, Adriana Lima, Christine Davis, Heidi Klum, and among Arab celebrities, Mona Zaki who wore the iconic earrings in Assya series, Nelly Karim, Nancy Ajram and many more,” she said.
When asked who she most cherished seeing wearing her pieces, she said: “Definitely Oprah. I made her a ring and she loved it. Oprah reminds me of my childhood. Also, I was so touched when Zaha Hadid loved my pieces; she was very tough and so uneasy. We were at a party and then she took off her own jewelry and wore my pieces. I am not so good at men’s jewelry but I have made David Beckham some cufflinks when he came to me to buy a gift for his wife Victoria,” Dima said.

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