Home › Buying gold in Egypt
If you are visiting or living here, the Egyptian gold market works differently from what you may be used to. None of this is secret — it is just rarely explained to someone who did not grow up with it. Here is what you are actually paying for, and what to check, including at shops that are not ours.
Gold here is not priced per item. It is priced per gram, at a rate that depends on purity, and the piece is weighed in front of you. The four purities in normal circulation are:
| Karat | Purity | Where you will meet it |
|---|---|---|
| 24K | 999 | Bullion bars and coins; too soft for most jewelry |
| 22K | 916 | Traditional and imported pieces; higher gold content |
| 21K | 875 | The Egyptian standard. Most jewelry you will see |
| 18K | 750 | Modern and lighter designs, often with stones |
A “price of gold today” quoted in Egypt without a karat attached almost always means 21K per gram.
Your total is roughly: (price per gram for that karat × weight) + making charge + hallmarking + tax.
The making charge — masna’eya — pays for the workmanship. It is not a markup hidden in the gold price; it is a separate line, and it varies with how intricate the piece is. A plain wedding band and an elaborate necklace of identical weight will not cost the same, and that is legitimate.
What you should expect from any shop is to be told the two numbers separately, before you commit. If the making charge is folded into one opaque total, ask for it to be broken out.
Egypt requires gold to be assayed and stamped. Every genuine piece carries a small stamped mark identifying its purity. It is easy to miss because it is deliberately small — on the clasp of a chain, the inside of a band, the back of a pendant.
Ask to be shown it. A reputable seller will hand you the piece and point it out without hesitation, and will also put it on the scale while you watch.
This is the single most useful thing in this guide. Before you pay, ask the shop what it would pay you for the same piece today if you walked back in with it.
The answer tells you nearly everything. A fair gap between the selling and buying price is normal everywhere in the world — it is how the shop covers its costs. An evasive answer, or a refusal to name a number at all, is the warning sign. So is any arrangement where the weight used to buy a piece back is quietly lower than the weight you were charged for.
Our own buying and selling prices are both published on the prices page, every day, before you walk in.
We are a working goldsmith, not a market commentator. We read the international market every morning because we have to set our own prices with it, and a few years ago we decided to publish that reading instead of keeping it behind the counter — with the date on it, and with a public verdict the following day whether we were right or wrong.
For a buyer that matters in a practical way: it means the shop you are dealing with is willing to be measured on something checkable.
The metal itself is priced off the same world market everywhere. What differs between countries is the making charge, tax, and the exchange rate you convert at. Comparing a total price without separating those is how people end up confused.
If you want jewelry to wear, 21K is the Egyptian norm for good reasons of durability and resale. If you want to hold gold as a store of value, bullion in 24K removes the making charge from the equation entirely. Those are two different purchases and it is worth being clear with yourself which one you are making.
On the metal price, no — it is set by the market and the same for everyone. On the making charge there is sometimes room, depending on the piece. Anyone offering a discount on the metal is telling you something about the metal.
Yes. Ask for Dr. Mohammed or Hani.