GOLD! The very word slides over the tongue as pleasurably as honey. Hearts beat faster as images of riches and glamour associated with the glittering yellow metal, a cause of wars and a purchaser of peace. The search for gold financed and caused Spanish fleets to seek the fabled El Dorado several centuries ago. The possibility of gold stimulated mass movements of fortune seekers to harsh environments around the world: the freezing cold of Alaska or the hot plains of South Africa. Dreams of great wealth and power drove millions of people to extremes of privation and even death. Some survived and became immensely rich. Most did not; many died. Gold was a very serious business indeed.
The image persists and the demand for gold is still very much in evidence. With a population of 20 million, the Kingdom’s gold consumption in 1999 was 199.4 tons. Only China, India and America surpassed it. In round numbers, just over three thousandths (0.33 percent) of the world’s population that lives in Saudi Arabia used six percent of the world’s gold. India is the biggest single user. With 16 percent of the world’s population, it used 25 percent of the gold output. Simply put, the Kingdom uses 12 times per head more gold than India which is the world’s biggest consumer! Gold is a very serious business and nowhere more serious than in the Kingdom.
And no one in the Kingdom is more serious about gold than Ahmad Musalli, general manager of one of the Kingdom’s biggest gold consumers at the heart of gold production. On meeting him, I immediately felt that all his time was mine and there was a curious air of peace and quiet self-possession in the midst of a huge commercial concern. Practical evidence of this surfaced later. Based in a custom-built factory, the rival of precious metal production plants anywhere, he manages a major industry with all the technology available to maintain quality, continuity of supply and security. The company holds the prestigious ISO 9002 for its adherence to rigorous standards of quality. The business produces only jewelry — the most widely-known use of gold.
Eighty years ago, Ahmad’s grandfather, Sheikh Muhammad Hassan Musalli, opened his first shop in Makkah. A small concern dealing only in silver, it prospered. Hassan’s son, Sheikh Abdullah, joined his father in the shop and sold gold items. It was an immediate success and set the course for the development of the business. Trade rapidly increased and thanks to the demands of the Haj and pilgrim trade, the business turned to producing gold items exclusively.
Eventually, Faisal Abdullah, the grandson of the founder and current owner, moved to Jeddah in order to expand the business. Employing 55 workers, the company was already a considerable force in the market. However, after 12 years or so during which the business increased tenfold, there was a need for a modern efficient factory. In 1997, the current premises were opened by Prince Majid ibn Abdul Aziz, then governor of Makkah. From a simple father and son business, Musalli Gold now occupies more than 5,000 square meters of floor space, employs more than 1,500 people and is at the heart of the Saudi gold industry.
It is difficult to appreciate that producing finely finished gold jewelry is an industry. Traditionally, a craftsman would take a piece of gold and, using a number of skills, would fashion it into a beautiful and desirable well-finished article. Indeed, this is still very much the case in many souks around the Kingdom and in workshops all over the world. The kidney-bench, named after its shape, where hand-made pieces are created, is still a common sight. The individually designed and hand-made piece, the realization of a client’s dream, is still sought after for its uniqueness and status. The market for these pieces is naturally very small. Although an industry, at the very heart of conception, design and production are people and all have great talent and skills that they apply to each piece they produce. People — all talented and some disadvantaged — are at the heart of the business.
Ahmad Musalli addresses the bigger market. Of the 3,200 retail outlets in the country, he supplies half. Saudi gold work is renowned for the purity of the metal and the quality of the work. To maintain the former, samples are taken from the production floors and retail outlets and rigorously checked. The penalties imposed should a sample fall below the required government levels are draconian. In a business built on trust, continuity and quality, maintaining standards is a priority and they are strictly adhered to.
To gain a reputation for quality, it is vital to have efficient, very high-quality modern production techniques and good design and high-quality people. Thus, among all the modern precision machinery and computer-controlled production lines, traditional skills and the hands of the craftsman are still very much in evidence.
At one end is the special order workshop. Here, items are made to special order for clients — either to in-house designs or the client’s own. Asked why he still keeps a labor-intensive workshop that uses the skills of the goldsmith, Ahmad replied, “It is part of the family tradition and it is a service for our long-standing customers. Equally important, it keeps the traditions and skills alive — preserves them for future generations.”
Ahmad also admits to a weakness — an especial love for diamonds, not for the value of the gem, but for their unusual properties. “The special-order workshop is where we can still handle and create pieces for really exceptional diamonds and where we can apply all our skills to make something unique.”
“There was a move away from diamonds for some years,” he said, “but now they are back in fashion.” There have been changes in fashion certainly but there has also been a change in the rate of change in fashion.
“Demand for a fashion or style used to build slowly and maintain itself for some time. Now, there is a demand that requires instant gratification and lasts only a very short time — sometimes only weeks!” To meet these changes, the company relies heavily on the talents of its people and invests heavily in maintaining a flow of imaginative designers and craftsmen. The Musalli Design Studio produces 60 percent or more of the designs that find their way onto the market.
Gradually, having shown me the factory, the production and the industrial facet of the business, Ahmad came to the wellspring of the company’s success: the people in it. The business run by a family runs like a family.
There is an in-house training course, six months long in both the theory and practice of precious metal craftsmanship. It is open to young Saudi men and aims to develop new talent for the company. Well, that is what Ahmad told me at first. What I found out later was that there is no obligation for the graduates to work for the company at all. They can take their talents elsewhere and contribute to the skill base of the country. It is part of Ahmad’s respect for what he sees as his duty. It is a surprising attitude in a highly competitive commercial world. More was to come.
“I was traveling in the Far East some time ago and noticed that many of the workers at the gold benches were disabled. So, I asked my managers to check out the situation here in the Kingdom.” They did. The result was another surprise. “I found a number of people who were disabled and we invited them to join us.” The company modified its premises and trained 25 potential workers.
“They proved to be wonderful employees. They accepted the challenge and really involve themselves with the work; they are a valuable and highly productive part of our company.” So valuable in fact, that there are plans to increase the number to over 100 this year.
What encouraged him to consider taking on the challenge? A gentle shrug of the shoulders and Ahmad permitted himself a modest, slightly embarrassed smile at my naiveté: “It was my duty.”
Obvious! There was that air of quiet self-possession again. And no doubt, a heart of gold!