Syrian and Arab goldsmiths have entered the gold market in Turkey in recent years, and although the Turks are interested in buying gold and consider it a decoration and a treasury for savings, they are reluctant to buy Syrian gold.

"Not everything that glitters is gold" ... a saying that applies to the Turkish view of the caliber and shapes of gold they are not accustomed to. For the common people of the Turks, the standard (standard) gold is of 22 karat, which is what they deal with in the goldsmiths' shops and use it for decoration and the treasury, but with The opening of a number of Arab jewelers - especially the Syrians - in recent years, a new competitor has appeared in the market, which is 21-carat gold.

Although the price of "21 carat" or what was called "Syrian gold" to distinguish it from the Turkish one is about 5% cheaper than the latter, but it still faces difficulties in entering the competition with the landowner and the public.

Different tastes

Ahmed Spano, a Syrian goldsmith in the Esenyurt neighborhood of Istanbul, says that the Turks generally do not accept new things easily, whether with regard to food, clothing or anything else, and this applies to gold, as they are committed to specific shapes and calories, and it is not easy for them to replace them.

Spano assures Al-Jazeera Net that the majority of his customers are Syrians or Arabs, and this, in his opinion, is due "to the difference in gold caliber that we deal with. Our standard gold standard in Syria and a number of Arab countries is 21 carats, while in Turkey it is 22, and there is a difference in color between the two," Syrian gold is slightly reddish, while the Turkish is light, and the Turks love this color, and consider that the color of Syrian artifacts is strange, so they do not accept to buy them.

In addition to adorning and gifting on occasions, Turks are generally interested in buying gold for the purpose of saving, and economic reports indicate that more than 3500 tons of gold are in their hands as savings.

Dozens of shops for Arab and Syrian goldsmiths have opened in Turkey in recent years (Al-Jazeera)

Considerations

The interest of the Turks in gold and the prosperity of its market in Turkey, which ranks 12th in the world as the largest holder of gold among its reserve assets, lured Arab goldsmiths - especially the Syrians who fled with their experience and money from the war in their country - to enter this market, but to this day they have not been able to reach Turkish customers despite their opening tens of Shops that display the words "There is Syrian gold" on their windows.

Regarding the reason for this, the Syrian jeweler Muhammad Halwi says that when a Syrian or Arab customer in general buys "Syrian gold" he takes into account considerations, the most important of which is that he may return to his country one day and there he can sell or exchange it, while the Turkish customer does not own These considerations and he does not deal except with the usual gold, which makes him outside the scope of dealing with this gold.

And on the effect of price on competition, especially since Syrian gold is cheaper than Turkish in general, Halwi said that if the Turkish customer wants to choose the cheapest, he will also go to Turkish gold of 14 carat, whose price is less than 22 carat by about 40%, according to the models and shapes he is accustomed to.

He added, "There may be some exceptions from the Turks who turn to Syrian gold, but these exceptions are still few."

Logic

In turn, Muhammad al-Iraqi - a gold shop owner in the modern Beylikduzu district of Istanbul - considered the Turks' preference for their dealings with Turkish gold as "logical".

Al-Iraqi says to Al-Jazeera Net, "Every people has their own culture of dealing with gold, for example in Syria and Iraq the standard standard is 21, while in Libya, for example, most customers prefer 18 carats, and in the Gulf also they have their own caliber and shapes they prefer over others, and so on."

And about the possibility of entering the "intruder" caliber on the line of competition with Turkish gold, Al-Iraqi points out that it is related to the conviction of the Turks, and they currently do not have any belief in 21-carat gold, but we do not know in the future if it will enter into their purchasing culture.

Turkish gold differs from its Syrian counterpart in terms of color and artifacts (Al-Jazeera)

Asymmetric competition

The Turkish jeweler, Arkan Ozturk, who is the owner of a gold and jewelry store in Istanbul, says that it is known that the Turks resort to acquiring gold as a safe haven for savings, especially in light of the instability of the price of the lira, so they prefer to buy bullion or lira of 24 karat, or gold coins of 22 karat. To sell it when needed.

Ozturk indicated to Al-Jazeera Net that the current competition between Turkish gold and what is called "Syrian gold" is unequal, not only according to economic standards, but also according to the customers' conviction. However, with time, this distinction between the two types must be broken, and even the forms of artifacts will be affected by each other. Other.

He expected that the price of Syrian gold, which is about 5% lower than the Turkish one, may be an attractive factor for the Turkish customer in the future, and he will not care about the simple color difference or the invisible stamp of the gold standard on each piece.

Society's perception

While she was at the goldsmith Öztürk's shop with her fiancé to buy the gold that she will wear at her wedding soon, we asked the Turkish young woman Tuba Gul about her opinion on buying 21-carat gold in principle, and she replied, “Even if I like to buy it, for example, I am afraid of the look of my relatives or my groom’s family and the invitees. Some people think that it is not real gold, or that I am buying the cheapest, apart from the various forms of jewelery that I usually see on the storefronts of Syrian jewelers, so I make sure to take into account the view of society.

bet

The Syrian goldsmiths' bet on the large gold market in Turkey and its being a promising market that accommodates all remains, as Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez said that his country's goal is to reach the production of between 44 and 45 tons of gold during 2020.

In recent statements, the minister indicated that Turkey imports about 160 tons of gold every year, at a value of up to 10 billion dollars, and that his country seeks to increase its gold production in the next five years to 100 tons annually.