Gold Rate in Sharjah Today – 22 Carat & 21 Carat Price per Gram

Gold price in Sharjah today: one rate, a different bill

Because the UAE dirham is pegged to the dollar and the whole country trades on the retail rate published by the Dubai Gold & Jewellery Group, a gram of gold is worth the same in Sharjah as in Dubai, Ajman or Abu Dhabi at any given moment. Shops in Sharjah update their boards through the day as the international price moves. If you ever see a Sharjah board that differs from a Dubai board by a dirham, it is the time of the last update, not a Sharjah price.

The bill, however, is built in three layers, and the second layer is where Sharjah competes. Metal value is weight times the karat rate. The making charge is the shop's fee for labour, quoted per gram or as a percentage. VAT is 5% on the total. Sharjah's gold trade grew up serving the emirate's Emirati, Arab and South Asian families rather than tourists, and with rents lower than Deira's and shops competing on repeat business, labour quotes on everyday pieces are often a little keener. Many Dubai residents with Sharjah roots do their wedding shopping here for that reason. For the machinery behind the national rate, see who sets the Dubai gold rate; the gold rate in Dubai today page shows the same board with a chart and calculator.

Gold rate in Sharjah today: 22 carat and 21 carat

Here is the live board. The unit buttons switch between a gram, 10 grams, a tola and an ounce, and the dollar column helps anyone comparing with prices back home.

Sharjah is one of the few cities where both of the UAE's big jewellery karats are bought in equal measure. The Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities of Rolla, Al Nahda, Al Majaz and Muwaileh look at the 22 carat rate, the 916 standard for bridal gold, bangles and the pieces bought around Diwali and Onam. Emirati families and the large Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian, Palestinian and Sudanese population look at the 21 carat rate, stamped 875, for sets, the Gulf-style wedding shabka and the coin necklaces that Sharjah's workshops are known for. Each karat's rate is the pure-gold rate multiplied by its purity, so 22K is always 91.6% of the 24K figure and 21K is 87.5%. Treat the numbers here as indicative; the invoice follows the shop's board at the time of sale.

Gold shops in Sharjah: the Central Souk (Blue Souk)

The Central Souk, universally called the Blue Souk for its tiled facades, stands on Khalid Lagoon and is the city's best-known gold address. Its two wings house a dense run of jewellers on the ground floor, with carpets, antiques and souvenirs upstairs. The shops here sell a wide spread of karats and styles, from 21K Gulf sets and Arabic coin designs to 22K South Asian bridal gold and 18K stone-set pieces, and most of them buy old gold as well. Because so many shops sit within a few paces of each other, it is the simplest place in Sharjah to get three quotes on the same weight and design in half an hour.

• Open through the day with a break in some shops in the afternoon and a later start on Friday; evenings are busiest and best for choice.
• Parking is available around the building and by the lagoon; it fills on weekend evenings.
• Prices are negotiable on labour, not on the metal rate. Start by asking the per-gram making charge and whether it includes stones.
• Ask for the weight on the scale in front of you and look for the karat stamp before you discuss price.

Our dedicated Sharjah gold souk page goes deeper into the Blue Souk, and the Gold Centre page covers the dedicated gold building nearby.

Rolla and the Al Shuwaihean gold row

If the Blue Souk is the showcase, Rolla is the working heart of Sharjah's gold trade. The streets between Rolla Square and the Al Shuwaihean area, close to the old creek-side souks, hold a long row of jewellers, workshops and gold traders that have served the city for decades. This is where many Sharjah families buy, where small manufacturers sell to retailers, and where the keenest labour quotes in the emirate are usually found on plain chains, bangles and rings. The area is also home to a cluster of buyers who will quote for old gold on the spot.

Rolla is busy, parking is tight and the shops are smaller and less polished than the souk, which is exactly why regulars like it. A few things make a visit smoother: go on a weekday evening rather than a weekend if you want time to talk; carry the live rate from this page so the conversation starts from the metal value; and if you are buying a heavy piece, ask whether the shop will hallmark and invoice it with weight and karat, which protects you when you later sell. The gold shop near me page lists the Rolla, Al Shuwaihean and Al Ghuwair streets along with the other emirates' gold areas.

Sahara Centre and the mall showrooms

For a chain-store experience, Sahara Centre in Al Nahda, right on the Dubai border, is where Sharjah and Dubai residents alike find the big national brands under one roof. The showrooms there display the same daily rate, publish their making charges, take cards and run the same seasonal labour promotions as their Deira branches. City Centre Sharjah, Mega Mall and the newer malls around Muwaileh and University City add further branches. The advantages are convenience, parking, exchange policies and brand buy-back; the trade-off is that published labour is rarely negotiable, so compare the mall's rate card with a Rolla quote before buying a large set.

Chain showrooms are also where many Sharjah families buy 24K bars and coins for savings, since investment gold of 99% purity or more is zero-rated for VAT and the brands sell sealed, certified bars. For a comparison of the main chains and their strengths, see the best gold jewellers in the UAE; for bar premiums by size, see gold bar prices.

Sharjah vs Dubai making charges: a practical comparison

The question every Sharjah resident asks is whether the drive to Deira is worth it. Since the metal rate is identical, it comes down to labour, choice and your time. The table sets out how the two cities usually compare on the pieces people actually buy.

In short: for plain pieces and 21K Arabic styles, Sharjah is at least as good and often cheaper on labour; for a large 22K bridal order or diamond work, the Dubai Gold Souk offers more. Use the gold calculator to fix the metal value first, so that any quote from either city can be reduced to a labour figure and compared honestly. The making charges guide explains typical ranges by piece.

Selling gold in Sharjah

Sharjah is a good city to sell in precisely because Rolla and the Blue Souk have many buyers close together. The buyer will weigh the piece, check the hallmark, test it with acid or an XRF machine, and pay the day's rate for the karat minus a margin; the making charge you paid originally is not returned. Hallmarked pieces with their invoice get the smallest deduction, and 999 coins and bars sell nearest to the board rate. Bring your Emirates ID, as buyers record every seller's details.

Get at least two quotes, ideally one from an independent in Rolla and one from a chain showroom, and do not sell on the first visit if the offers are far apart. Prices move during the day, so note the live rate from this page when you walk in. The full process, including what to do if a buyer disputes purity, is in how to sell gold in Dubai, which applies in Sharjah without change. If you need cash briefly rather than permanently, a gold loan from a UAE lender uses the same daily rate to set your limit and lets you keep the jewellery.

VAT, tourists and the Sharjah-Dubai commuter

VAT in Sharjah is the federal 5% on jewellery, charged on the full invoice including labour, with bars and coins of 99% purity or more zero-rated. Visitors can reclaim the VAT on jewellery through the Planet refund scheme when they leave the country, provided the shop registered the purchase at the till, the invoice is at least AED 250 and the goods leave within 90 days; Sharjah International Airport has refund facilities, as do Dubai's airports. Details are in our VAT on gold page.

For the hundreds of thousands of people who live in Sharjah and work in Dubai, the practical advice is simple. Buy where the labour is best for the piece you want, which for 21K and everyday 22K is often Sharjah. Sell where the buyers are densest, which can be either city. And check the UAE gold price history before a big purchase so you know whether today's rate is high or low against recent weeks. Neighbouring Ajman, a short drive up the coast, has its own souk with a reputation for low making charges and is worth a look for residents of Al Nahda, Al Qasimia and Muwaileh. The how to buy gold checklist covers the hallmark, invoice and receipt points that protect you in either emirate.