UAE > Silver Jewelry

Silver Jewelry

Silver jewelry has been used since ancient times by the Bedouin of the UAE and Oman both for personal adornment and as an investment. The main centers for working are in Oman. Old Babylonian tablets show that silver was traded more than four thousand years ago in return for copper from Magan (the Oman peninsula). The Chief source of silver during the past two centuries has been the Maria Theresa dollar with its high and constant silver content. It was first minted in Vienna in 1751 and was named after Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria. The coin itself is often seen in the necklaces. Today, much of the silver comes from China in bars. Gold was sometimes used to ornament the silver, and a common practice was to melt down did and battered jewelry to make new, although the styles remained traditional.

Little arabic girls only wear small and soft jewelry, but later after marriage, she wears heavy jewelry to show to the groom’s family, how she spent the money that was given to her as part of the dowry. This is a tradition in some families. For me, when I was preparing for my wedding I bought a Bahraini jewelry, Indian jewelry and Saudi jewelry plus some soft jewelry and bangles.