UAE: Why young buyers are opting for traditional gold jewellery over brands

The young Arab generation is shifting from branded gold jewellery designs to traditional and heritage-focused ornaments.

As demand for such jewellery grows among young buyers in the UAE and the wider Gulf region, Arab jewellers said they're expanding the design range of such ornaments, but at more affordable rates due to high gold prices.

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"We noticed that Gen Z are more into traditional jewellery. Around 10 years ago, they were focusing on brands, but now they feel proud to wear traditional and heritage jewellery. Therefore, many new collections by us are also inspired by UAE tradition and culture, such as deserts, gazelle, etc," said Mohammed Dhaiban, marketing director at Al Romaizan.

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"Around 30 to 40 per cent of our jewellery collection used to be traditional, but now more than 70 per cent of is focused on traditional designs to meet the growing demand. The good thing is that Gen Z in the UAE and Arab world feel proud to wear these items because they have heard stories about designs from their grandmothers and grandfathers,” Dhaiban told Khaleej Times in an interview.

It is estimated that the population of Gen Z, who were born between 1997 and 2012, is expected to reach 30 per cent of GCC’s workforce.

"If someone brings a 70-year-old design, and they want to make it like a similar design, but in a modern way, we can craft it," Dhaiban added.

Tamjid Abdullah, deputy Group CEO of Jawhara Jewellery, said it is “very true” that young buyers are increasingly buying traditional design ornaments.

“Gen Z are very much attached to their grandmothers’ jewellery, but those ornaments used to weigh 100 to 150 grams, which they cannot afford now. By maintaining the jewellery’s outlines, look and features, we reduced the weight to around 18 to 20 grams to make it affordable to them,” Abdullah said during the 56th Watch and Jewellery Middle East Show held at Sharjah Expo Centre last month.

To cope with record-high gold prices, he said jewellers are adjusting and reducing the size of the ornament, but maintaining the design. “It is quite a difficult exercise, but we managed to do it.”

Gold prices have hit record highs in the UAE and globally. On Monday morning, 24K and 22K were trading at record highs of Dh468.5 and Dh433.75 per gram, respectively. Globally, spot gold was trading at $3,886.8 per ounce.

Ahmad Enezan, vice CEO of Salem Al Shueibi Jewellery, said traditional designs are gaining popularity and they receive inquiries from many customers.

Waheed Abbas

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

Waheed Abbas is Assistant Editor, covering real estate, aviation and other business stories that directly affect the lives of UAE consumers. He frequently reports human interest stories, too.