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Frequently Asked Questions
What does this activity cover?
It covers the wholesale of jewellery, watches, and clocks in bulk, including gold and precious-metal jewellery, gem-set pieces, and loose stones, to retailers and other businesses.
Who are the typical customers?
Jewellery retailers, boutiques, brands, and other traders restocking and sourcing jewellery, watches, and loose stones across the UAE and the wider region.
Why is Security Industry Regulatory Agency approval needed?
Jewellery wholesale handles high-value goods with strict security requirements, so the Security Industry Regulatory Agency must approve the business before the trade license is issued.
Does this include selling jewellery to the public?
No. This activity is wholesale supply to businesses. Retail sale of jewellery to the public through a store falls under a separate activity.
Is approval required for activity 4649.15 specifically?
Yes. Approval from the Security Industry Regulatory Agency is required before the trade license is issued. The activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
How to Start a Jewellery Wholesale Business with Meydan Free Zone
Dubai earns its 'City of Gold' name on volume. Long before a necklace reaches a shop window, it moves through wholesalers who deal in trays, not single pieces. A retailer in the Gold Souk restocks ahead of wedding season. A boutique in Abu Dhabi orders a new collection by the dozen. A buyer flies in to source loose stones for a brand back home. The trade runs in bulk, and the wholesaler sits at the centre of it.
The UAE is one of the world's great jewellery trading hubs. It exported USD 11.4 billion of diamonds in 2023, the third-highest of any country, and its jewellery market was worth USD 4.66 billion in 2024, according to Grand View Research1. The wider UAE gold market is forecast to keep growing at about 7.2 percent a year through 2035, according to Spherical Insights2. For a jewellery wholesaler, that is the appeal: sitting in the supply line between global gold and diamond flows and the region's retailers and brands.
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How Big the Trade Is
Jewellery wholesale in the UAE sits inside a major global trading hub, where Dubai connects worldwide gold and diamond flows with regional and international buyers. The headline number is the scale of the country's diamond trade.
Sources: Grand View Research (2025); Spherical Insights (2025).
A jewellery wholesaler buys jewellery, watches, and clocks in bulk and supplies them to the businesses that sell them on. The range covers gold and precious-metal jewellery, gem-set pieces, watches, and loose stones, sold by the tray and the collection rather than the single item. The buyers are businesses: jewellery retailers, boutiques, brands, and other traders restocking and sourcing. It is a high-value distribution trade: stock is precious, security and provenance matter, and the wholesaler is judged on price, range, and trust.
Picture a wholesaler's showroom off a Dubai trading street, behind more than one locked door. A retailer reviews a tray of gold bangles against next season's order. A brand buyer inspects loose diamonds under a loupe and checks the certificates. A safe stays open just long enough to move a parcel, then closes. Every piece is weighed, logged, and signed for, because in this trade a single tray can be worth more than the room it sits in. The wholesalers that win are the ones who pair a deep, current range with security and paperwork their buyers can rely on.
Whether it is a tray of gold bangles, a parcel of loose stones, or a watch collection, a jewellery wholesaler supplies the retailers and brands that sell to everyone else.
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Who is this for?
- Jewellery and watch wholesalers: Businesses supplying jewellery, watches, and clocks in bulk to UAE and regional retailers.
- Gold and precious-stone traders: Operators dealing in gold pieces, gem-set jewellery, and loose stones.
- Jewellery sourcing and supply companies: Distributors restocking boutiques, brands, and other traders.
Meydan Free Zone offers 100% foreign ownership, zero percent corporate tax on qualifying income, full profit repatriation, and a fully digital licensing process, providing a regulated and cost-efficient base from which to operate a jewellery wholesale business in one of the world's leading gold and diamond trading hubs.
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4649.15 - Jewellery Wholesale
Under this activity, your business is licensed to wholesale jewellery, watches, and clocks in bulk to retailers and other businesses.
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The activity is specifically for the wholesale of jewellery, watches, and clocks in bulk. Retail sale of jewellery to the public through a specialised store (4773) falls under a separate activity, as does manufacturing jewellery.
The line is precise. If your business buys jewellery, watches, and clocks in bulk and supplies them to retailers and other businesses, you are in. If you sell jewellery to the public through a store, or manufacture the pieces, a different activity applies.
Third-Party Approval: Approval from the Security Industry Regulatory Agency is required before the trade license is issued.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance: This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
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Footnotes
1 Grand View Research. UAE Jewelry Market Report. Grand View Research, 2025.
2 Spherical Insights. UAE Gold Market Report. Spherical Insights, 2025.
