The winter wedding season is here and the glittering souqs of Dubai and Sharjah are busy with prospective brides and future in-laws, selecting the best pieces of jewellery for the wedding day and dowry.
Yet many of the radiant necklaces and bangles destined for slender necks and henna’d arms come from a neighbourhood of faded low-rise concrete buildings off Sharjah’s Al Mareija Street. It’s an unassuming quarter of tailor shops and South Indian restaurants where a plate of rice and fish curry costs Dh5. Every so often, the pavement is blocked by a cluster of sandals, strewn outside the doors of goldsmith shops.
Al Baroon Gold Factory is one of scores in Al Mareija, not far from Sharjah’s famed central market gold souq and a wharf where dhow captains once carried gold from the Trucial States across the ocean to India and Pakistan.
Inside a humble concrete three-storey, gold wholesalers from the Gulf’s best known jewellery brands come and go with plastic bags of silver and gold. They are here for Faisal Chakkala, the managing partner who has built the workshop’s reputation since his arrival from Kerala in 1993.
Mr Chakkala’s uncle Abdul Jabbar founded Al Baroon in 1988, after launching a successful textile business in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Uncle Abdul Jabbar never lived in the Gulf, exactly. Instead, he moved between Dammam, Sharjah and Kerala.
When Mr Chakkala came in Sharjah in 1993, he was unsure of a permanent move. “At that time I thought just to come and see if Sharjah is good. Everything was very cheap and best. Silent, no traffic jam.”
He knew little about gold but soon earned the traders’ trust.
“He’s well connected,” says an American jeweller for one of the Gulf’s largest brands. “He became known in the street and he offers many services like manufacturing, repair, design. He’s one of the top ones here. The small and the big, they’re all connected, really.”
Majid Yasser, 29, a Yemeni at Al Rumaiza Gold and Jewellery company, has also relied on Mr Chakkala for years. “Their work is good. Just try other shops. This one is number one.”
While Mr Chakkala meets with traders, nine men are at work in the back room, moulding gold and silver into jewellery that will become treasured heirlooms.
Each smith works at a desk cluttered with pliers and tweezers, hammers the size of pencils, clay cups for molten gold, and cups of tea for sustenance. The smiths peers through spectacles, each at work on a different item: one fastens silver bands onto a cane, one polishes a baby’s spoon, one bends red-hot gold strips into bangles, another fastens diamonds onto a ring. A Malayalam radio station plays over the din of hammering and welding torches.
Above them on a low-ceiling mezzanine are three more smiths, including Michalle Mamo, an Ethiopian silversmith who was renowned in Sharjah’s free zone and recruited by Mr Chakkala four years ago. The wooden floor shakes every time his hammer comes down.
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Mr Mamo began apprenticing with his father at about age 14. African jewellery is a growing business in the Gulf and Al Baroon began producing Ethiopian, Sudanese and Somalian jewellery 20 years ago. Ethiopians and Somalis carry Mr Mamo's work abroad after buying it in Sharjah and Dubai souqs.
“Heavy items and big, big items,” says Mr Chakkala.
But Mr Mamo’s specialities are delicate filigree crosses and finely layered bridal pendants.
When Mr Chakkala arrived, traditional Arabic jewellery was the fashion, dangling mortasha necklace of discs and Abu Showk, a bangle of thick spikes. "Heavy things, you know."
Today, it’s all white gold and diamonds. “You know, lightweight design,” says Mr Chakkala. “Now people don’t like the heavy things. Every two three years the fashion is changing.”
Gold sales hit a 19-year-low last year due to low oil prices, falling salaries and more conservative spending by tourists. That, and millenials just don't have the same love for gold as generations past.
But a bride is not a bride without some sparkle and Al Baroon’s business is as good as ever, says Mr Chakkala. “Al Humdullilah.” He believes the number of workshops in the area is growing, not fall.
The secret to success? “Truthfulness,” says Mr Chakkala. “Everything is true. You know, correct. Perfection.”
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20S24%20ULTRA
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
Read more about the coronavirus
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
|
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
No Shame
Lily Allen
(Parlophone)
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
