There is a version of this story where Donna Carillo-Hajjar stays quiet about what she has built — where she lets the sold-out plaques and the packed arenas speak for themselves without putting her name to any of it. That version does not exist. Because Donna, a Filipina entrepreneur who came to Dubai and decided to build not one but two businesses from the ground up, has never been the type to disappear into the background.
She is, as it turns out, the whole story.
Today, her name sits behind D&R Pure Jewels, a Dubai-based 18k gold jewelry and watch brand with a following that spans the UAE and beyond, and D&R Elegant Events, the production company responsible for some of the most successful OPM concerts ever staged on UAE soil. But the beginning of all of it was far less glamorous — a phone camera, a Facebook Live stream, and AED 3,500 that had to stretch as far as it possibly could.
The live stream that started everything
It was the early days of Facebook Live, when the feature was still new enough that most people were still figuring out what it was for. Donna figured it out fast. With a small collection of gold pieces bought from their combined starting capital of AED 3,500, she went live, held up the items, and started selling.
Then the orders came — and kept coming.
“Orders were suddenly increasing,” she recalls. The immediate challenge was not finding customers. It was keeping up with them. There was no supplier on standby, no delivery service, no team. Donna and her husband Rami packed and delivered shipments themselves. The system was simple but relentless: deliver the first batch, collect payment, buy the next batch, repeat. Every dirham earned went straight back into the business before the day was over.
It was the kind of early grind that rarely makes it into the polished version of a success story — but it is exactly where D&R Pure Jewels was born. The name itself leaves no room for ambiguity: D for Donna, R for Rami. Two people, one business, and a shared belief that honest work would eventually compound into something real.
What it compounded into is a brand now recognised across the UAE for affordable, quality 18k gold jewelry and timepieces designed to be as much an investment as they are an accessory. From a handful of pieces held up on a phone screen, Donna built a brand that now ships globally and counts tens of thousands of loyal customers — the overwhelming majority of them Filipino.
The community that changed the plan
Nearly 90 percent of D&R Pure Jewels’ customer base is Filipino, and for Donna, that is not just a business statistic. It is the reason she made the most unexpected move of her entrepreneurial career.
The original idea behind getting into events was modest — bring a Filipino artist to Dubai to model for the jewelry brand. A collaboration, nothing more. But as the conversations developed and the scale of the opportunity became clearer, Donna made a decision that had nothing to do with market research or industry experience. She decided to produce a full concert.
She had no background in live events. She did not pretend otherwise. What she had was years of trust built with a community that had supported her business since the early Facebook Live days, and a sense that they deserved something bigger than what they had been given before.
“We trusted them,” she says. The feeling, it turned out, was mutual.
Their first production — TJ Monterde’s Sarili Nating Mundo at the Coca-Cola Arena — sold out in under 24 hours. More than 4,000 tickets. A Sold-Out Plaque from arena management. For someone producing a concert for the first time, it was a result that would have been hard to believe in advance. Donna’s response to it was not to celebrate prematurely — it was to make sure the show was worth every ticket sold.
She followed it with Dionela’s The Grace World Tour and then Cup of Joe’s Stardust World Tour in November 2025. Each one building on the last. Each one carrying the same standard she set from the beginning: professional, personal, and made with the Filipino audience in mind.
The man behind the woman
None of this happened alone, and Donna is the first to say so. Her husband Rami has been beside her through every stage — managing the technical and financial side of both businesses, handling procurement, keeping the numbers in order, and taking care of the operational machinery that allows Donna to focus on the work that faces outward. He is, by every account, the steady engine behind what Donna builds. Their division of responsibilities is clean: she handles artist relations, jewelry sourcing, and the creative direction of both brands. He makes sure everything runs.
Building something that lasts
Ask Donna what comes next, and the answer is less about the next big announcement and more about the long game. There is no dramatic third venture being teased. No pivot being planned for the cameras. What she talks about instead is scale — growing both businesses globally — and legacy, building something that outlasts any single concert or collection.
“The goal is to continue to provide good service,” she says, “whether it’s in jewelry or events.”
For a Filipina who started with a phone, a pile of gold, and AED 3,500, that kind of quiet resolve is perhaps the most revealing thing about her. Donna Carillo-Hajjar has never needed a grand entrance. She has always just needed a place to start.
It turns out, a Facebook Live stream was enough.
D&R Pure Jewels is available at drpurejewels.com. Follow D&R Elegant Events on Instagram @drelegantevents for upcoming shows.
