Wander through Dubai's Gold Souk

Sharpen your bargaining skills at Dubai's famous Gold Souk.

Transcript

00:00Gold is a serious business in this part of the world, and a trip to Deira's lively gold

00:10souk will show you exactly why Dubai is known around the world as the city of gold.

00:16These are the bustling alleyways where you can put your bargaining skills to the test

00:19and pick up a good deal.

00:21There are over 300 jewelers here selling everything from tiny precious stones to glitzy weighty

00:26necklaces.

00:32Gold here is priced according to weight, and whether it's hand-crafted or machine-made.

00:37So don't expect to see prices in the windows, you'll have to go inside and haggle.

00:41But prices are some of the cheapest in the world, and most come out with a good bargain.

00:46We bought a bangle for my daughter, and we're very pleased with it, yeah, it should be fun.

01:04Now we're looking for a ring, so we're going to walk around a bit more.

01:09You'll find traders from the Arab world, the subcontinent Iran and China.

01:13This jeweler specialises in 22 carat gold, which has a rich colour and is mostly popular

01:17with Indians.

01:19He says now is a good time to buy gold in Dubai.

01:21Today gold rate is 89 dirhams per gram, and this is a very good rate today.

01:27It was before 105, 107, but now is the best price to purchase gold, time, very nice time.

01:35Meanwhile Arab tastes differ greatly.

01:37These extravagant necklaces come from Bahrain and Kuwait.

01:40They are heavy, and so is the price tag.

01:44Even heavier are the traditional Emirati women's headdresses that are worn at weddings.

01:49They can weigh nearly 500 grams.

01:54Dubai's gold trade is a long-established market in both bullion and jewellery, fuelled by

01:58strong demand from the Arab world and India.

02:01Gold prices in the region have spiked since the start of the year, but people are still

02:05buying.

02:06And when summer is over and the wedding season gets into full swing, expect these alleyways

02:11to fill with more bargain hunters.

02:13Ashraf Helmi, Gulf News.