Gold & Diamond Park

Gold & Diamond Park is less a classic free zone and more a purpose-built jewellery town. Emaar opened it in 2001 on Sheikh Zayed Road, and it combines retail showrooms on the ground floor with manufacturing workshops and offices behind and above them. Shoppers come for custom pieces and repairs, while trade buyers come for the workshops.

The licensing set-up changed in 2020. Under an agreement between Emaar Malls and JAFZA, Jebel Ali Free Zone took over licensing, company registration and visa services for businesses inside the park. So although your shop is on Sheikh Zayed Road, your company file sits with JAFZA, and you follow JAFZA's rules and fee structure.

Space is the heart of the offer. The park has roughly a hundred retail units, more than a hundred purpose-built manufacturing blocks and a few hundred offices, according to figures published around the JAFZA deal. Workshops are designed for jewellery work, which matters for ventilation, security and power needs that a normal office cannot meet.

This is a regulated trade. Anyone dealing in gold, precious stones or jewellery in the UAE is treated as a dealer in precious metals and stones under anti-money laundering law. That means customer checks, record keeping and reporting of large cash deals through the national goAML system, whatever your setup size.

The park is not the right home for every gold business. Large bullion traders and diamond dealers handling rough stones usually look at DMCC, which runs the main precious metals and diamond exchanges. Gold & Diamond Park is strongest for finished jewellery: making it, displaying it and selling it.

Visas for park companies are issued through JAFZA. In practice you usually need a no-objection letter from Gold & Diamond Park management with each request, and JAFZA commonly asks for a refundable bank or cash guarantee per employee.

Your visa allocation depends on the size of the unit you rent. A small showroom supports a small team, while workshop blocks can usually justify more visas for craftsmen, setters and polishers.

Skilled jewellery workers are often recruited from abroad. Allow extra time for document attestation and medical testing, and make sure every worker is on your visa before they sit at a bench.

Banks apply enhanced checks to jewellery and gold businesses because of money laundering risk. Expect detailed questions on suppliers, cash sales, stock sources and customers. A clear AML policy, goAML registration, audited stock records and supplier invoices will make account opening much smoother, though approval is never automatic.

Gold & Diamond Park sits on Sheikh Zayed Road on the stretch between Al Quoz and Al Barsha, close to Mall of the Emirates and Al Quoz industrial areas. It has its own parking for shoppers, which is a real advantage over older gold souks.

Dubai International Airport is usually around 25 minutes away and Jebel Ali Port about 25 to 30 minutes. Red Line metro stations along Sheikh Zayed Road are within a short taxi ride.