E-Paper
Sign In
Meet UAE gemologist who travels to mines, through rivers, to find precious stones
Fatma Almheiri set out to find a jewellery design she liked. What followed took her across more than seven countries, to some of the world's finest sapphire deposits
- PUBLISHED: Thu 24 Sept 2026, 10:51 AM
What Fatma Almheiri remembers most about her trip to Sri Lanka's Ratnapura region, home to some of the world's finest sapphire deposits, was not crossing a river with a powerful current, nor even the demanding work at the mine site that followed. What she remembers most is how it ended: leeches.
"To some people, such journeys may look like adventures," she says of her travels. "But to me, they are an essential part of understanding a gemstone. When you see for yourself the environment it comes from and the conditions in which people work to recover it, your perception of that same gemstone changes completely when you later see it displayed in the window of a luxury jewellery store."
Recommended For You
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
This is what separates Almheiri from most people in her field. The Emirati field gemologist, gemstone dealer, jewellery designer, and certified trainer founded Fatma Almheiri Jewellery Art in 2009. She has trained more than 400 students and professionals, and has completed nearly 38 field trips across more than seven countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. She holds a Graduate Gemologist (G.G.) qualification alongside several professional certifications in diamond and gemstone evaluation, jewellery design, and gemstone cutting.
And it all began with a drawing.
A question that changed everything
Unable to find a jewellery design she had in mind, Almheiri drew it herself. The drawing led to a question, the question led to a diploma in jewellery design, then a G.G. qualification in gemology. But the laboratory was not enough. "My curiosity eventually took me from the design table into mines and fieldwork," she says. Ethiopia in 2014 was the first stop.
"I have always loved to introduce myself as a daughter of the desert and the granddaughter of a pearl diver," she says, which is an accurate description. Almheiri descends into mines the way her grandfather descended into the sea, guided by curiosity and the belief that what lies beneath the surface is worth the journey.
The stone that money cannot value
Twelve years and nearly 38 field trips later, ask Almheiri about the most valuable stone she has ever handled and she will not name a sapphire or a diamond. She will tell you about a garnet. "It was the first gemstone I ever extracted from the earth with my own hands. Its value cannot be measured by price. It represents the moment when my knowledge changed from something I studied into something I experienced." Behind that garnet is a lesson she carries into every transaction: a parcel of rough garnet that revealed spinel after cutting proved that rough gemstones hide what the eye alone cannot see.
The country she carries with her, and the path she built alone
Family has been Almheiri's most consistent source of support, but she carries a second source of belonging into every country she visits. "Wherever I travel, I proudly carry my identity as an Emirati." Encountering Emirati projects operating across several African countries affected her deeply. The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, through the UAE Jewellers initiative, has opened local and international platforms for her and other Emirati talents. "To be Emirati today means coming from a country that has created extraordinary space for us to dream."
In a field with almost no Arab predecessors, Almheiri says the absence of a role model was never an obstacle. "On the contrary, it motivated me to create my own path." The title "first Arab field gemologist" is one she uses with precision: no international body formally awards it, but her journey speaks for itself.
Five steps, one rule
For any young woman considering this field, Almheiri is clear: education first, then practical experience, market exposure, learning from established experts, and finally fieldwork to understand the true journey of a gemstone from the earth. Her advice does not change:
"Study first. In the gemstone world, knowledge is not simply an advantage. It is what protects you and builds your credibility and reputation over the long term."
Emirati Journalist