Heritage Tours

Jewellery & Crafts

Age – old skills customarily passed down from father to son, mother to daughter symbolize Oman’s ancient heritage. Traditional craft industries have grown up over thousands of years utilizing both local available resources and imported products. Boat building and copper mining are perhaps the oldest traditional craft industries.

Traditional Omani jewellery in the past was predominantly fashioned in silver but gold was also used. Jewellery has always been considered an essential part of female attire and plays an important role in marriage rites in Oman. Silver is deemed to possess talismanic properties protecting its wearer from evil and has been compared to the moon and gold with the sun. Traditional gold and silver smiths employ ancient techniques such as chasing, embossing, engraving, piercing, filigree and granulation.

For hundreds of years the Khanjar an ornate Omani dagger worn by men, fashioned in both silver and gold has symbolized a proud heritage and craft skills of generations of artisans. It has considerable value within Omani society both past and present. In the past men wore it on a daily basis, today it tends to be only worn on special accessions or when protocol demands. Every Omani man will wear a khanjar at least once in his life. For instance, it is essential for a bridegroom to wear a khanjar as a ceremonial sword.