Gold and jewelry merchants and investors are calling to curb exhibits because the promotion of gold items that have no classification.

“Merchants and investors in gold and jewelry are calling on showrooms to curb exhibits which do not have official specifications,” said Abdel Al-Ghani Al-Muhana of the Gold and Jewelry Committee in the Eastern Chamber. “Such gold items are sold by non-Saudi merchant-traders who use the opportunity to market cheap gold items for high prices.”

“Most show rooms are not specialized in gold and jewelry, but set up by individuals who have no supervision or accountability. Most cases of cheating in these stores are found in the buying and selling of gems and semi-precious stones.”

Mohammad Azzoz, a member of the Gold and Jewelry Committee in the Jeddah Chamber, said commercial showrooms in Saudi Arabia are making “astronomical gains.”

Lately, their number has increased. Jeddah witnessed the opening of three exhibitions in one month. The number of showrooms displaying items from one of the prominent countries in this field is limited to four in one year.

“Saudi Arabia holds 17 commercial exhibitions a year but some of these do not offer customers an official receipt, which has a negative impact on the Saudi gold economy,” he added.

A member of the Gold and Jewelry Committee in the Jeddah Chamber said the regulations of the Ministry of Trade prohibit the sale of items in exhibitions, but the rules are seldom adhered to. That said, regulations for protecting consumers are improving.

Abdul Mehsin Al-Nimer, member of the National Committee for Precious Metals in the Council of Chambers, said the receipts given to customers are the only guarantee that customers are getting the genuine item. They should include all the details of the item, such as price per gram and karat. Customers have a real problem with temporary exhibitions because customers have no references to file lawsuits against them.

“The gold market is witnessing a surge, the biggest in 10 years, because of the recent low in gold prices,” Al Nimer added. “This has coincided with the summer season, which has put more pressure on traders who had decreased the volume of their operations earlier because of the low purchasing power.”

He also made mention of the vacuum created by the exit from the gold market of small investors who had diverted their investments to real estate businesses and other markets after the prices of gold soared and the number of customers dwindled. This was only to be expected, he added.