Gold Souk, Dubai

When I went to Dubai I was very fortunate to have stayed in a hotel that was just a 5 minute walk for the Gold Souk. With the intention of maybe buying one piece of gold jewellery I actually ended up buying a whole lot more!

GOLD SOUK EXPERIENCE

The thing about the Gold Souk is that there are lines and lines of gold shops, the gold in the showcases resembles a candy shop window, from bangles to necklaces the choice is endless. Designs can be traditional or modern, bold or conservative, chunky or delicate if you have it in mind then its definitely on display. You can even have the type of design you may be looking for made if you are staying for a longer period, although the jewellers do aim to get you your piece of jewellery before you return back home. As you walk past these shops you cannot help but go in and have a look around. The shop keepers do not pounce on you as soon as you walk in but they do want to convince you to make a purchase therefore they will show you various designs and comment on what would suit you etc. If you hav eany problem with a piece of jewellery, for example I wanted to buy a pair of earrings but the earrings were in the style of fish hooks rather than my preferred choice of butterfly backs. I told the jeweller this and he assured me it would not be a problem and altered the earrings and had them sent to the hotel I was staying at. For me this was very convenient and reassuring. Another thing that would hav eto be taken into consideration when visiting the Gold Souk is haggle, haggle and haggle you have to otherwise you will not get the best price. The gold in Dubai is very cheap but by haggling you will be sure to get a very reasonalbe deal. Try convincing the jeweller that if you were to buy two items then you should get a discount. If they refuse you if will not last long as soon as you say you will look elsewhere they will change their minds and if they don't agree then you can find an abundance of gold elsewhere. Prices are determined in weight rather than the grand designs.

QUALITY OF GOLD

The quality of the gold is better than you would find in England. It is very yellow and bright in colour and more attractive and therefore more appealing, the designs are much heavier in weight, you would be looking at something like 24 carats. The amount that they charge per gram in Dubai is totally dependant on the current gold rate. I know when we were there the rate was preety good and so I ended up buying more than I was initially expecting.

If you do not want to purchase any gold then a trip to the Gold Souk can prove to a be a dazzling and very cultural one for you. You will find here an array of nationalities, people from all over he world visit the Gold Souk. You will also see fabulous craftmanship and design and gold in a range of colours from rose, white to even green highlights. If you have children with you though they do get bored quite quickly because it is usually mummy who wants the gold and daddy buying the gold. We visited a couple of shops in the Gold Souk where the jewellers gave my son a lollipop to keep him busy and happy so that I could look at the gold. Anyone can easily spend hours here but it is better to pick and choose which shops you go into, you will probably find that the first shop you went to gave you the best deal and end up returning there.