Silver Investors Beware ! Patra and Gillet

As gold continues to hover round 21,000 Rupees per 10 grams and silver round 50,000 Rupees per kilogram there is a great deal of change taking place in the Indian jewellery market. The following article which appeared in the ‘Times of India’ is a must read for anyone looking to invest in silver jewellery and artifacts.

Now, silver is worth its weight in gold and more

24 Feb, 2011, 0854 hrs IST, Meenakshi Sinha, TNN

NEW DELHI: For generations, silver jewellery has been a source of enthrallment for millions of families across India. The exquisite craftwork of an anklet, the sheer weight of a beautiful baazuband (ornate upper arm amulet) — the metal has been a source of pleasure in every way. Its versatility and durability has only added to its allure. While gold has always been the preferred metal for weddings , the cheaper silver has offered more opportunities to indulge.

But now with the sky-rocketing of silver prices, customers are being forced to make adjustments. The traditional heavy silver jewellery is giving way to lightweight varieties. Imitation metals too are making their way in.

Sachin Aggarwal of Mohit Gems and Jewellers, Sector 27, Noida says that the demand for heavy items has gone down.“Silver gift items like statues of gods, bridal jewellery like anklets , maang tika, traditional key rings for household keys or sindoor dani (vermillion container) have gone lightweight. Most show pieces like dolphins or photo frames for gods have now been reduced to being designed in a thin layer called patra,” he says.

Another cost-cutting measure is opting for plastic buttons for earrings. “Earlier gold earrings had gold screws. Slowly they were replaced by silver. Now even silver has become too prohibitive. Today plastic clipon is used in place of silver. This brings down the cost of the jewellery,” says Aggarwal.

Rising prices have made customers improvize. Gurgaon-based media professional Niharika Srivastava (35) bought a heavy silver bracelet and used a thread to convert it into a necklace for her cousin’s wedding gift. “My budget was Rs 2,000 and the bracelet with the thread came for Rs 1,500 and looked pretty close to a necklace . It was a better display item than a 1gm gold top which would have cost close to Rs 2,000 and would have hardly been visible,” she says.

Seema Jain of Ram Swarup Jain Jewellers from Dariba Kalan, says that the rise in prices has spawned imitation metals. These days, a white metal that looks like silver and referred to as gillet by local jewelers is often used as a replacement for silver. “People have started going for artificial items too as they look more fancy than traditional silver jewellery and give the same look,” she says.

Jewellers across Delhi and NCR say the price of silver has doubled in the last three years. Five years back silver rates varied from Rs 10,000-12 ,000 per kg. “Today the rate of silver is Rs 49,700 per kg. It has more than doubled in the past three years,” says Anish Khan, general manager of Tirupati Jewellers sector 18, Noida.

Gold is considered a necessity in weddings. But many jewellers keep varied options for their discerning customers. Apart from the one or two mandatory sets in gold, people today look for gold-plated silver sets as gift items.“They cost anywhere between Rs 1,500 and Rs 8,000. Other items include gold-plated silver bangles, anklets and chains.
Most popular among these are a set of four bangles of one tola in gold plating,” says Shakit Bhola of Bhola Bhai Jewellers, Rohtas Nagar Shahdara.

BTW the first is a picture of an antique silver anklet and the second is a gillet bracelet.So far I have seen plenty of cases of sellers using  deceptive language in India but none have actually lied when pressed for details.So make it a point to specifically ask if an item is made of solid silver.Ask how pure the silver is. Buying from jewellers and state emporia is a lot safer than buying silver items in fairs and melas.