The Dubai Gold Souk is the most famous and most visited of the city’s souks. It consists of a series of covered pedestrian streets lined with hundreds and hundreds of shops offering a huge selection of gold jewellery, as well as silver, diamonds and other precious stones.
It is a fascinating place that every tourist visiting Dubai should visit, even those with no interest in such shopping.
Once there, one cannot help but notice the huge gold and diamond ring displayed by the first shopkeeper, who for such a marvel even had the honour of ending up in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s heaviest gold ring.
This work is called Najmat Taiba, translatable as ‘star of Taiba’, and was created by a goldsmith company in Saudi Arabia. The gemstone in the centre weighs 5.17 kilograms and rests on a huge 21-carat gold ring weighing a staggering 58686 kilograms.
The Dubai gold souk is highly regulated, like everything else in the city, after all: the market price of gold (in dirhams per gram) is displayed on the numerous displays inside the market, with 24 carat, 22 carat, 21 carat and 18 carat denominations.
Jewellery is sold by weight according to the current market price, adding a surcharge for any carving work.
Like any self-respecting souk, the basic rule inside the Dubai gold souk is to always bargain. The sellers will initially shoot a high price: of course it is not the price of the gold that is bargainable, but the goldsmith’s carving work. By conducting a good negotiation, it is possible to drop the price by up to 30% of the initial asking price.
Another golden rule, it has to be said, when trying to shop in this amazing market in Dubai is not to stop at the first shop: often similar or even identical items are sold by several shopkeepers, so it is a good idea to take some time to have a look at the numerous shop windows.
Payments can be made by credit card, but shopkeepers are often more inclined to give a discount when paying in cash.
Shopkeepers in Dubai’s gold souk display all kinds of jewellery, but it is very difficult for the untrained eye to tell if what is on sale is a fake. Usually this does not happen, but it is better to pay extra attention to avoid fraud or deception: the strict regulations of the Dubai government stipulate that items for sale must be accurately described.
Between one shop and another you will certainly be approached by street vendors, who are 100% certain to offer you fakes of all kinds.
Beware that Dubai’s gold souk is one of the best known places in the city for such purchases, but certainly not the only one. If you don’t want to deal with the atmosphere of the souk, there are many other places in the city where you can shop for valuables. One of the best alternatives is the Gold and Diamond Park, near metro stop number 31 FGB, but you can also buy gold, silver, diamonds and gems in the city’s shopping malls in the many jewellery shops.
The gold souk is located in the Deira district. It is very easy to reach and very well signposted. Coming from the Creek, more precisely from the Abra station, just cross the Deira covered souk and continue straight on for a few dozen metres.
Alternatively, it can be reached by metro, getting off at the Al Ras stop on the green line. The market is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., except for Fridays, a day of rest for Muslims, when the souk shops open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
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