Gold Silver Reports (GSR) – Demand for Gold Jewelry in the United Arab Emirates Plummeted — Wholesale gold jewelry sales in Dubai, sometimes known as the City of Gold, fell 50 to 60 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier after VAT began on Jan. 1, according to Chandu Siroya, vice chairman of the industry association Dubai Gold & Jewellery Group. Dubai’s historic souk marketplace of mostly jewelry traders even has space available for the first time in years, he said.