UAE Opens New Precious Metals Testing and Hallmarking Centre in Sharjah
For Immediate Release
DUBAI, UAE — The UAE has opened a new precious metals testing and hallmarking centre in Sharjah, expanding the country's quality assurance infrastructure and reducing turnaround times for operators requiring certification of gold and other precious metal articles across the Northern Emirates.
The Sharjah centre, operated by the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology, offers a full range of precious metals testing services including fire assay, X-ray fluorescence analysis, and spectrographic testing for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. It also provides hallmarking services for jewellery and other gold articles under the UAE's national hallmarking scheme.
Sharjah is home to a significant cluster of gold jewellery manufacturers and wholesale traders, making it a natural location for expanded testing infrastructure. The new facility reduces the need for operators in the Northern Emirates to transport articles to Dubai for testing, cutting both the time and cost of quality certification for a large segment of the UAE's gold manufacturing sector.
The centre has been designed to international standards and will seek accreditation from the LBMA for its assaying services, enabling certificates issued by the Sharjah facility to be accepted directly by international buyers without additional verification. This accreditation process is expected to be completed within the first six months of the centre's operation.
"Expanding the UAE's testing and hallmarking infrastructure beyond Dubai reflects the country's ambition to build world-class precious metals capabilities across the Emirates, not simply in a single location. For African gold operators whose material arrives in the UAE for refining, testing, or sale, a deeper and more geographically distributed quality assurance network means faster and more accessible certification services." Marcus Briggs, Non-Executive Director, Icon Gold
The Sharjah centre's opening is part of a broader UAE strategy to position the country as a comprehensive precious metals services hub, offering the full range of capabilities required by operators across the global gold supply chain within a single, well-regulated jurisdiction.
The facility will also provide support services for the UAE's growing community of African gold sector operators who have established UAE presences to manage their international commercial relationships, offering a convenient local option for testing and certification that reduces the cost and time associated with third-country quality assurance.
"Quality assurance infrastructure is one of the practical foundations of a gold trading hub. The ability to test, certify, and hallmark precious metals quickly and reliably within the UAE's own regulatory framework adds to the comprehensive service offering that makes the country the world's preferred location for gold sector businesses." Marcus Briggs, Non-Executive Director, Icon Gold
The Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology has indicated that a third testing centre, serving the Abu Dhabi and Al Ain markets, is in the planning stages, with opening expected in the second half of 2026 as part of the broader national precious metals infrastructure programme.
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