Dubai: Al Khor Street, the expanded road lining up around the creek in Deira, plays host to a true treasure trove in Dubai. This trove, which is a small walk away from the Al Ras metro station, is a marketplace lined up with remarkable goods: gold, silver and precious stones as far as the eye can see.
And it’s about to get a lot busier in the “City of Gold”.
The 19th edition of Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) has put the spotlight on the thriving gold and jewellery sector in Dubai, with gold retailers reporting strong sales, which is the result of a rather eventful summer.
Devang Soni, owner of Marhaba Jewellery store, located in Gold Souq, said, “Despite the hot summer months, the Gold Souq sees high footfall and sales as tourists tend to buy gold during their visit to Dubai because the quality of gold that is sold here is considered one of the best in the world.”
The Deira Gold Souq, a market space spanning across several city blocks, is home to many stores and vendors showing off the craftsmanship of local manufacturers and is full to the brim with a chorus of beckoning and haggling.
Kamal Rathnawara has worked in the Gold Souq as a vendor for six years and has seen the market grow alongside its ever-growing count of visitors.
“More and more people come and go every day,” Rathnawara said.
Playing host to several stores and repair services and thousands of people in foot traffic, this historic market, founded in Dubai’s younger years, has kept a sense of timelessness, which can be seen in its countless alleys and its merchandise, which is a solid testament to the past glamour and fortune.
Previously called the Chapra Bazaar, the Souq’s beginnings go back to 1977, when many traders and jewellers moved their business from Lebanon to Kuwait and from Kuwait to Dubai, all in order to avoid restrictive trade regulations; as luck would have it, Dubai had the least of those and was lenient to non-existent taxation, making it the next stop for a gold trading scene that would last and flourish well into the closing millennium and beyond.
Today, thanks to the Souq and similar establishments, the UAE continues to bear the flag of top gold exporter (previously held by Lebanon), according to Chandu Siroya, owner of the local Siroya Jewellery and long-time member of the jewel and precious metal market.
“Approximately 70 to 80 per cent of local gold and similar products are exported,” Siroya said.
Statistics published in May by Dubai Gold & Jewellery Group (DGJG) show that 45 tonnes of jewellery were manufactured locally last year, a 20 per cent increase compared to 2014.
