Women of Vision: How Amreen Iqbal turns women’s stories into gold

A name set in gold, a child’s initial traced in diamonds, a symbol of heritage worn close to the skin, Amreen Iqbal sees jewellery as an intimate form of autobiography. As the Dubai-based founder and creative director of homegrown fine-jewellery brand Piece of You, she designs for women who want the objects they wear to hold meaning beyond their material value.

Iqbal launched Piece of You in 2017 with a clear proposition: jewellery should tell the wearer’s story. Dubai gave her the setting, commercial confidence and international audience to develop that idea into a growing business. “Dubai gives entrepreneurs the confidence to dream big,” she says. “It is a city that celebrates ambition, innovation and homegrown businesses, while giving us access to an incredibly diverse and sophisticated customer base.”

The city’s multicultural population allowed Iqbal to build relationships with customers from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds. Those encounters helped the brand expand its perspective and gradually develop a presence beyond the UAE. Dubai’s long association with gold and jewellery also gave the venture a particular resonance. “There is something very powerful about building a fine-jewellery brand in a city so deeply connected to gold and jewellery,” she says.

That connection informs Piece of You, although its emotional centre comes from the women who commission and wear its designs. Iqbal creates pieces around names, initials, children, family ties, heritage, relationships, personal achievements and defining milestones. Each design becomes a tangible record of an experience or identity. “This is really the soul of Piece of You,” she explains. “I want every piece to mean something.”

She describes herself as “a storyteller through gold and diamonds”, a phrase that captures her approach to design. Beauty remains essential, though meaning determines the final piece. “Ultimately, that is what Piece of You is: your story, made wearable,” she says.

Her own entrepreneurial story has unfolded during a period of significant advancement for women in the UAE. As the country marks Emirati Women’s Day, Iqbal sees the occasion as recognition of the opportunities women now have to shape companies, industries and the wider economy. “The change has been extraordinary,” she says. “Today, women in the UAE are encouraged to lead, create and build.”

As an Emirati woman, Iqbal has grown up with a consistent message from the country’s leadership that women have an important role in shaping the nation’s future. She considers Emirati Women’s Day a reminder of the progress already made and the possibilities still ahead.

Government initiatives have played a central role in that progress. Iqbal points to women’s access to education, entrepreneurship programmes, funding, mentorship and increasingly visible leadership positions. She also values the culture that has formed around female ambition, where women-owned businesses have become an established part of the UAE’s economic landscape. “That representation gives the next generation permission to think even bigger,” she says.

Iqbal believes mentorship, professional networks, collaboration and funding can help more women turn ideas into businesses. She also sees personal encouragement as vital during the uncertain early stages of a venture. “Sometimes what an entrepreneur needs most is someone who genuinely believes her idea can become something significant,” she says.

Piece of You reflects that belief and offers a lesson: “Small ideas can become powerful businesses when they are given the environment to grow.”