that gold is gold, and 14k is just as good as 18k, without the hefty price tag.
About a year ago, I had a chance to go to Dubai for 1 month, and spent quite some time in the Gold Souk.
Wow, what an experience! I have never seen so much gold, so casually displayed. Do a search on "gold souk" on Google Image, you will see what I mean. There were just racks and racks and racks of gold jewelry in the hundreds of stores lining the streets in Gold Souk. And there were absolutely no security guard in sight (none of those Tiffanys, we think we are the Secret Service tpye sercurity guards, lol). A lot of times, the stores would be completely unmanned for a few minutes if the sales person went to the back to get something.
It was also interesting how gold was sold. There were no prices on tags, only the weight of the gold pieces. Each store had a list of gold prices based on the current gold market price + a % of markup (more for hand made pieces, less for machines made pieces). So people would check the gold market to see if it was a good day or week to shop.
At the time I was there, 18k gold, machine made pieces, was around $22 / gram. So I paid $160 for a 18k gold bangle that would have cost at least $500 in the U.S. And you could bargain in all the gold shops, even the large chain stores, which added to the fun.
Another interesting thing was gold stores specialized in the type of gold they sold. Majority of stores, especially what you would consider high-end ones, only sold 24k gold and 22k gold. All the traditional Middle Eastern gold jewelry were only made in 22k gold, and locals would only buy 22k or higher.
18k was the lowest grade of gold sold in Dubai. They were mainly sold in large chain stores located in malls or hotels. A sales person told me they used to not sell any 18k gold, because no locals would buy them. But when tourism started to pick up 20 years ago, stores started to imported 18k from Italy to sell to the tourists.
Now, I must say, after my visit to Dubai, I have a whole new appreciation for gold, especially 18k yellow gold. I really love the richness and the luster of the metal, and my small collection of YG jewerly is slowly but surely growing.
About a year ago, I had a chance to go to Dubai for 1 month, and spent quite some time in the Gold Souk.
Wow, what an experience! I have never seen so much gold, so casually displayed. Do a search on "gold souk" on Google Image, you will see what I mean. There were just racks and racks and racks of gold jewelry in the hundreds of stores lining the streets in Gold Souk. And there were absolutely no security guard in sight (none of those Tiffanys, we think we are the Secret Service tpye sercurity guards, lol). A lot of times, the stores would be completely unmanned for a few minutes if the sales person went to the back to get something.
It was also interesting how gold was sold. There were no prices on tags, only the weight of the gold pieces. Each store had a list of gold prices based on the current gold market price + a % of markup (more for hand made pieces, less for machines made pieces). So people would check the gold market to see if it was a good day or week to shop.
At the time I was there, 18k gold, machine made pieces, was around $22 / gram. So I paid $160 for a 18k gold bangle that would have cost at least $500 in the U.S. And you could bargain in all the gold shops, even the large chain stores, which added to the fun.
Another interesting thing was gold stores specialized in the type of gold they sold. Majority of stores, especially what you would consider high-end ones, only sold 24k gold and 22k gold. All the traditional Middle Eastern gold jewelry were only made in 22k gold, and locals would only buy 22k or higher.
18k was the lowest grade of gold sold in Dubai. They were mainly sold in large chain stores located in malls or hotels. A sales person told me they used to not sell any 18k gold, because no locals would buy them. But when tourism started to pick up 20 years ago, stores started to imported 18k from Italy to sell to the tourists.
Now, I must say, after my visit to Dubai, I have a whole new appreciation for gold, especially 18k yellow gold. I really love the richness and the luster of the metal, and my small collection of YG jewerly is slowly but surely growing.
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