Jewellery: Way to the Indian heart

With the festive season here, there has been an onslaught of jewellery options available in the market with attractive offers, trending and discounts. We make your job a little easier.

Jewellery is a woman's most coveted possessions, signifying and embellishing her fondest memories, be that of marriage, festivals or gifts given to her by her family. However, the selection of jewellery is not merely a matter of good taste for it is dependent on many factors like the latest trends, cost of metals and precious stones, reliable sellers, budget of the buyers etc. Prachur Singhal, a gemmologist and jeweller, says, "I think gold jewellery can never be outweighed by other precious metals or stones like platinum, silver or diamond because not only does its cost escalate constantly, but also because people consider it to be an auspicious metal."

Auspiciousness is a matter of great consequence when it comes to jewellery buying and selling especially during festive seasons of Diwali, Dhanteras, where people tend to buy gold coins, biscuits, guineas, small silver puja thaali and lotas. With heavy discounts and sale offers adorning the markets, advertised to lure in vulnerable customers suffering from the festive itch, gold is usually the metal bought followed by silver. Most women prefer buying a pair of simple gold kadas for their daily wear, which would cost around Rs 10,000 but just a single diamond ring sets one back by Rs 25,000. Therefore, other than being auspicious, gold is also comparatively cheaper than diamond. Adding further, Singhal says, "Although, diamonds and platinum are also available in the markets, gold or silver is preferred by the common man." Platinum, a precious metal, is highly in demand in larger cities but is not liked as much in the city. "Platinum, is not in demand in the city," says Ankur Jain, a jeweller. "We keep platinum couple bands, which have recently hit the markets but very few people inquire about it, let alone buy it." With a dozen options and choices of precious metals and stones available, there is no dearth of ideas in the jewellery design market this season with simple, single gold chain with pendants, delicate silver jhumkas and ear cuffs, seizing customers' hearts. But there has been a decline in demand for anklets and toe rings, which were traditionally being worn in silver by women earlier. While the obvious time to purchase traditional jewellery is the wedding season, modern jewellery attracts customers daily, mainly because it is lightweight and can be worn everyday even with modern clothing.

"There isn't a clear demarcation or indication of preference based on demand because buying jewellery, is inevitably something that every household, from every walk in life has chosen to do since times immemorial," says a prominent jeweller. While gold may be the obvious metal of choice, precious stones are also a must on shopping lists this season. Despite people from all strata of society purchasing jewellery, all jewellers strongly advise that before one purchases or gets impressed with what is shown to them, it is crucial that the authenticity of the jewel or metal is verified. "Jewellery is an essential part of the Indian way of living. One should always check if the seller is giving properly licensed, registered and standardised jewellery," says Jain.

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