The story of Gemaee begins not with a grand vision but with an afternoon of frustration. Its founder, Dubai-based entrepreneur Safiya Mehbaliyeva, then a jewelry enthusiast, wandered the gold-bright corridors of Dubai’s luxury districts, searching for a necklace that existed in her mind but, it seemed, nowhere else.
She searched from boutique to boutique, each promising exclusivity but offering only pieces of what she was after. Prices fluctuated without explanation, turning what should be an enjoyable shopping experience into a day of stress and questions.
In an interview with The Emirates Times, Safiya shared, “I had a particular look in mind, but all of the pieces I found were in different destinations, the prices were diverse, and no one rationally explained why the prices were so different. For me, it was tiring in Dubai to find the perfect piece of jewelry at a reasonable price and, more importantly, in a single location.”
That day, Gemaee’s foundation started. It came not from the boardroom, but from the mind of a customer who simply wanted to trust what she was buying. The idea was deceptively simple: bring together the world’s most coveted luxury pieces, authenticate them beyond doubt, and offer them to buyers who wanted more than just a brand name, but a story, a legacy, and above all, certainty.
Gemaee: A New Kind of Marketplace
Safiya’s answer to the chaos of Dubai’s luxury market was not to add another faceless eCommerce site to the pile. Instead, she envisioned Gemaee as a hybrid digital platform with the soul of a boutique. The company would curate only the stunning pieces: bags and jewelry from today’s luxury brands–Hermès, Chanel, Rolex, and other storied houses–each piece handpicked and rigorously vetted.
But the real innovation was in how Gemaee would build trust. In a world where 30% of luxury resale items are estimated to be counterfeit, Safiya knew that authenticity had to be more than a promise; it had to be a process.
Gemaee’s system became a two-step protocol: first, in-house experts scrutinized every stitch, clasp, and hallmark; then, the item underwent a second check using Entrupy, an AI-powered tool that analyzes microscopic details and compares them to a database of millions of genuine products. The result was a certificate that didn’t just say “authentic,” but was proven.
Safiya mentioned, “We do double authentication. It means we’re doing in-house authentication, and one internationally accepted certification for this.”
This wasn’t just about catching fakes. It was about restoring confidence to the secondhand luxury marketplace. Every bag, every watch, and necklace passed through Gemaee’s hands came with a lifetime authenticity guarantee, a promise in a business built on trust.
The Human Touch in a Digital World
Dubai is a city that loves spectacle, but it also values discretion. Gemaee’s approach was to offer both. Clients could browse the curated collections online, but the real magic happened in person. The company’s Dubai showroom operates by appointment only, offering a one-on-one experience that felt more like a private consultation than a sales pitch.
For those who couldn’t attend, Gemaee also offers Zoom calls, showing pieces in real time, answering questions, and building relationships that transcended the screen’s monitor.
Even the logistics were personal. Each stage of the packing and delivery process was filmed and shared with the client, from when an item left the display case to its handoff to the courier. The goal was to eliminate anxiety, especially for high-value purchases.
Sustainability With Substance
Luxury, for all its glitter, has a dark side. The hidden costs of glamour are the trade in exotic skins, the mountains of packaging, and the carbon footprint of global logistics. Safiya wanted Gemaee to be different.
She shares, “We are a very eco-loving company. All of our packaging accessorizes the boxing that we’re using for packaging. They are eco products, and even half of them are plantable. So it means you can take the…thank you card. You can even plant it, and the tree will grow out, or something like this.”
Packaging was not just recyclable but plantable, thank you cards that could grow into trees, and wrapping paper that left no trace. For every purchase, a tree was planted. These were not marketing gimmicks but reflected Safiya’s belief that luxury should be beautiful and responsible.
Challenging What the Status Says
Safiya’s ambitions for Gemaee go beyond profit. She sees the company as an ecosystem where buyers, sellers, and makers of luxury goods can connect in trust and transparency. Her vision is not just to present rare luxury items but also to become an advocate for best practices in the resale business, using her platforms to educate clients on what to look for, what to avoid, and why authenticity matters.
Safiya mentioned, “We address the increasing presence of counterfeits that damage consumer confidence and tarnish the reputation of resale platforms. A strict authentication process occurs in this battle to ensure only genuine luxury products are sold.”
For instance, while other resellers touted luxury bags as investments, Safiya pushed back, arguing that the real value lay in the stories these pieces carried, not in their resale price. She mentions, “Hermès Bags are not an investment, and I want to justify this because this is something I always tell. This is a total, you know, reverse to all resellers are telling nowadays.”
But at its core, Gemaee remains a reflection of its founder: meticulous, principled, and unafraid to challenge the status quo. Safiya’s journey from frustrated shopper to industry leader tells that the best businesses are built not just on opportunity but on conviction.
Safiya concludes, “I created an online platform to bring together all the best brands so customers like me could find exactly what we want. And that’s how Gemaee was born!”
