Three electronic screens were set up at the entrances to the Deira Gold Souq tracking the price of 18, 21, 22 and 24-carat gold a gram. “The televisions actually makes it easier for us,” says Vishal Mandaliya, sales executive with Barakat Jewellery.
Goldsmiths work on items at the workshop of Nirali & Mickey Diamond and Jewellery at the Gold Souq in Deira.
Suprabhat Das, a goldsmith works on a ring. Five men work in the Nirali and Mickey Diamond and Jewellery workshop each have a different skill. One is an expert in mounting, another in welding and another in engraving. There is also machinery used to melt down pieces of jewellery so the molten metal can be reshaped into something new.
There is also machinery used to melt down pieces of jewellery so the molten metal can be reshaped into something new.
Nandita Sharma takes a photo of her husband Atul Sharma in front of Kanz Jewels at the Gold Souq in Deira. The couple are tourists in Dubai and are visiting from New Delhi. "Although the price difference in gold is minimal between here and India, at least here we know the gold is pure." Nandita said.
Salesmen attend to customers at Kanz Jewels. “Everyone bargains, but not like the Indians,” jokes Deepak Dhora, 30, the manager. “It’s not the language, but for them it is an investment so there is more in it.”
The gold sold at the souq is imported from across the world, with most coming from Singapore, Italy and India.
Each shop will buy whatever they know best suits their market. Some shops, for example, will try to cater more to the African market, while others focus on Europeans.
The souq plays a massive part in helping Dubai to live up to its City of Gold nickname. The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange says almost a third of the world’s gold is traded out of Dubai, and a large part of that is done in Deira.
Bimal Kumar, a 28-year-old salesman at Dhanji Motiram and Sons Jewellers is a third generation salesman at Deira Gold Souq. His father Kirti Kishor Dhanji, 56, was brought to Dubai in 1958 by his father to set up the shop.
Almost a third of the world's gold is trading through Dubai. Mitya Underwood visits the Deira souq where all that glisters is most certainly gold. Photos by Razan Alzayani / The National
