Dubai jewellers’ gold prices set in stone

Customers at the Gold Souk in Deira. Christopher Pike / The National

DUBAI // Electronic displays showing regularly updated gold prices are to be installed in hundreds of jewellery shops to battle price rigging.

The Department of Economic Development and the Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group hope the move, in which customers pay only the displayed price, will make sellers more accountable.

Early next year about 500 outlets will instal displays that show the type of gold and its price.

More than 1,000 stores are expected to eventually adopt the system and, although initially only members of the DGJG will adopt the technology, it is hoped non-members will follow.

Jewellers at Deira’s Gold Souq welcomed the news but Yasser Mohammed, of Al Romaizan jewellery, said the system did not take into account the work that went into a piece, and customers would still want to haggle.

“For 30 years we haven’t put prices so why should we start?” he asked. “Customers will always want to fight for a better price.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. We don’t display prices because they each have different work done on them, so we can’t always have a set price because we have to be able to make a profit.”

Mohammed Lootah, executive director of commercial compliance and consumer protection at the department, said: “This is the first gold-pricing display of its kind in the world, and is part of our determination to provide consumers with transparency and help them make purchases without having to worry about being cheated.”

Prices will be updated each day at 9am, 2pm, 5pm and 8pm, based on the average of the international gold price during the day.

There will be a maximum 5 per cent mark-up to protect local jewellery shops from rapid price fluctuations. The customer will only pay the displayed price and there will be no extra charges.

“In future we are also looking into separating the invoice to have the price of gold split from the price of the craftsmanship,” said Mr Lootah. “Consumers will have a better idea of the value of gold in the jewellery compared with the price of the design.”

Malik Bakhsh, a Pakistani who has been managing Al Shahid Jewellers for 25 years, said the system would encourage customers.

“Only a few places in the market display prices but now they’re trying to implement it in each shop, which is a very good thing because that way customers will come with peace of mind and they won’t have any confusion,” he said.

Mr Bakhsh said it might deter some shops who misleadingly offer lower prices.

“What they then do is increase the manufacturing cost,” he said. “The price of gold is published in the newspaper every day, so it’s all a mind game.

“Customers go to these shops because they hear of lower prices but then the seller adds manufacturing costs, which goes up.”

Ousama Nassar, an Egyptian who has managed Mahallati Jewellery for 12 years, also welcomed the move.

“Some fluctuations in price can really affect customers who buy in bulk, but this is an international price so it’s important to have it displayed,” he said.

Tawhid Abdullah, chairman of Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group, said: “We hope to ensure a pleasant jewellery shopping experience for tourists and residents in Dubai, as they can purchase jewellery from any store at transparent gold prices.”

The prices will be updated using a Global System for Mobile communications, which is tamper-proof and cannot be manipulated by jewellers.