About Sharjah: The gold rush in Sharjah

About Sharjah: The gold rush in Sharjah Lily B. Libo-on / 6 July 2013 Varieties of gold jewellery change hands each day as hundreds of gold and diamond shoppers visit the Gold Centre located at Sharjah’s Al Wahda street to exchange and buy the latest designs. Opened in 1996, the centre has come to be known as the best place to bargain and exchange gold jewellery for the latest designs. Yet, for years, the outlets were not visible from the outside. Six months ago, the management redesigned the 52 shops to open directly onto the streets to lure people to stop and look at what is in store for them inside. Hossam Ali, general manager of the Gold Centre says that he made a study which resulted in the opening up of the shops directly on to Al Wahda Street. “The new setup has increased the number of customers, mostly Emirati families by 400 per cent. Before this, just a few hundreds would came to shop as nobody knew there were gold shops inside the centre. Now, people driving on Al Wahda Street stop and pull over as the gold and diamond jewellery collections beckon from a distance through the glass doors and walls,” Ali says. Yasmine, an Egyptian lady who loves buying gold jewellery for personal use, says that she started coming to the Gold Centre immediately after seeing the gold jewellery through the glass from the outside. “I felt even richer when the prizes of gold plummeted three months ago. With my Dh5,000, I can buy more gold, which is a good investment, gold being very cheap now. I am buying Italian and Bahraini gold every month,” she declares. The Gold Centre has for almost two decades been a bargaining point for exchanging old gold jewellery. Sahal, manager of Atlas Jeweller, says that more than 200 customers come during weekends to exchange necklaces, bangles, earrings and rings.” A jeweller at Al Romaizan Jewellery says that 25 per cent of his buyers are families, and the figure is growing with Syrian, Emirati, Egyptian, Jordanian, and Lebanese families topping the list. As the selling rate of gold plummeted, families particularly rush to the Gold Centre to exchange or sell their old jewellery. There are exquisite designs from Turkey, Korea, Italy, Singapore, Malaysia, and India. Sought-after designs from India come from Kolkata, Rajastan and Kerala. Mohamed Saleem, store manager of Joy Alukkas, says that 99 per cent of the customers coming to his store walk out with gold daily. “Before, only a few bought at once; they just checked on specific gold designs and left. Now, majority buy what they check,” he said. Diamond jewellery is becoming increasingly popular among gold buyers in Sharjah. Polished diamonds from South Africa, Belgium and Poland are popular. The best diamond setting is from Hong Kong. Between 500 and 600 customers come daily during weekdays and more on weekends, sometimes reaching 1,000, and most are families. “The price of gold is the lowest in the last two years. So more people are coming in. Customers also buy 24k and 22k gold jewellery with uncut diamonds,” Saleem says. The positive response from Emiratis and expatriates has prompted jewellers at the Gold Centre to pile up stocks of new and exquisite diamond and gold designs. A new trend is also shaping up with people preferring fresh water pearls. Other favourite stones are blue sapphire, rubies, emeralds and Belgian diamonds. Most of the jewellery shops at the centre allow exchange after checking on the purity of the gold. This summer there is literally a gold rush at the Gold Centre. And it goes to the credit of the management of the centre that it is attracting more customers after the face-lift.   lily@khaleejtimes.com Taylor Scott International