Gold Souks Muscat & Riyadh...

Since moving to the Middle East I do spend a fair amount of time looking at jewellery and stones and gold but when we went to Oman I saw more gold bangles than I had seen in Riyadh and they come in so many different styles...

Gold in Arabia is sold by weight so although the design is important the value is how many grams of gold per piece.  We tried on so many and my son was the photographer whilst we (daughter and I) layered more and more bangles on our arms.  It has to be said though, these bracelets and bangles are not cheap!!!

Love these cone shaped studs - very now and very similar style to a a gold plated cuff we have for sale on Violet and Rose London ( a little different on price!!)

I got very excited by this bracelet with the pretty fret work and the deep red stones ( rubies?) surrounded by diamonds.... this bracelet was approx £500 ( without haggling!) I was so disappointed when I asked the carat weight of the rubies to be told that all the stones were CZ's (Cubic zirconium!) I think to pay £500 for such a pretty bangle I would want REAL gems!!!

We also saw necklaces so heavy it would give me a crick in my neck - the gold is all 22 karat and very orange in colour and the creations above were HEAVY so would have been hugely expensive!

Funny Charms with Cubic Zirconium AGAIN!

We loved these necklaces with the layers of filigree handiwork

Ah but we did find some diamonds eventually! It seems that Oman is still very popular for the yellow 22 Karat gold whereas Saudi is big on diamonds  (gold)!!

Great image of my darling boy ( dressed in Omani headgear) taking a photo from the shop window.... I'm hoping we have a photographer in the family!!

Now if you want diamonds from Riyadh this is the place to go.......

You can choose the diamonds you want - colour/clarity and carat weight - some look more yellow but you can't really see this unless you have them next to good quality white diamonds.... always go for the best clarity and most pure colour you can afford as otherwise the colour will start to annoy you as I think it looks dull and almost dirty over time.....

                           This bag is worth over 1.5 million Saudi Riyals .... (divide it by 6 for 
                                                 rough conversion to UK £ stirling!)

                               These are our very good friends - Nasser who owns the shop

                                         and Adam who has helped design some pieces for us!

                    So the shop is NO 27 at Deira Souk Tell them I sent you and I am sure they will 

give you a good discount!

Since chatting to my driver, Pokar I now know where to go to find gold bangles in Riyadh - The 'Kuwaiti Souk' or Al Owais as it is correct name - this is the oldest souk in Riyadh and has lots of bangles ...guess where my next visit will be!