DSF 2006/07 has gone down in its history as the best year for the yellow metal. According to the World Gold Council, gold and jewellery sales during this time reached AED 1Billion, which is a 25% per cent increase than its initial estimate of Dh800 million.

This year DSF was probably the best time to dig gold. Firstly, the prices went down a bit during that period and that made the yellow metal a little bit more accessible. Secondly, the participating jewellers promoted gold in a big way and included raffle draws worth millions of dirhams. Exciting deals coupled with the latest collections on offer, DSF became the season to buy jewellery. There were numerous promotions and chances to win from a small gold coin, to gold bars, kilos of gold each day, which added to the yellow fever.

For Dubai Shopping Festival 2006/07 special offers included winnings worth 45 kilograms of gold, which was one kg gold daily for 45 days. The customers also got a rare chance to directly rate the service they received and got an exclusive edition of DSF diamond constellation pendant. During DSF, customers were also entitled to a raffle coupon on AED 500 worth of jewellery purchases.

The sales had increased considerably, both for jewellery and gold bars. As the market is developing the customers are showing a preference for customised and branded jewellery. This was very obvious during the DSF. According to a report, superior contemporary designs and combinations of gold with natural stones were the hot favourites of consumers. The twinkle and glimmer of the yellow metal combined with the intense colours of various stones and pearls was also a big draw.

At the beginning of the Festival, the World Gold Council had pledged its full support to the industry. "As always, we remain committed to promoting gold during the much-awaited Dubai Shopping Festival. We extend full support to all associated with the gold industry in terms of marketing and promotion to make gold the best selling commodity during this year," said Mr. Moaz Barakat, Managing Director, World Gold Council.

"Dubai has earned the title of ’City of Gold’, and I would like to say that the World Gold Council with its partners is leaving no stone unturned to develop the gold industry here in the UAE. Our aim is to make gold even more popular in the region. DSF is a good time for customers to buy gold so we didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity and the results are here for all to see," he further added.

The World Gold Council The World Gold Council is a global organisation, formed by an association of the world’s leading gold mining companies, whose aim is to promote the end-use of the unique and precious metal which they all produce - GOLD.

As the industry’s marketing arm, the Council, with its global presence, marshals the skills and resources needed to create the market conditions that will allow consumers and investors unhindered access to gold and gold products.

As a publicist for gold jewellery and other end-use markets such as industrial use, and investment, the Council works to address any major consumer issues. The Council is a source of data for the gold industry, providing balanced information on gold demands and trends to market participants and key influencers of the financial markets. The World Gold Council brings users, investors and consumers closer to the metal of their choice - GOLD.