The great silver rush

Move over gold, the buzz today is silver and semi-precious stones.

All that glitters is not necessarily gold; it could very well be silver. Silver jewellery, which till some time back was treated as a poor cousin of gold, is now coming out on its own with more and more women getting attracted to its understated elegance.

"Silver jewellery is more contemporary and wearable compared to gold jewellery. You don't need to keep it locked in a bank safe. It is more of an accessory," says Suman Anand Khanna of Amrapali Jewels, a Jaipur-based jewellery store with branches in Delhi, Mumbai and London.

Agrees Jyoti Rai, director operations, Frazer and Haws, "Women now like to experiment with their jewellery. They like to change their jewellery daily to match with their clothes. Silver jewellery studded with stones gives them that option."

The total jewellery market in India is estimated to be around Rs 45,000 crore of which silver jewellery is only around 20 per cent. "It is growing at between 20 - 22 per cent annually." says an industry observer.

So if all your heavy jewellery is locked up and you are tired of wearing fake fashion jewellery, switch over to silver.

There is a whole range of ethnic as well as contemporary jewellery available at various silver jewellery stores across the country. You can buy anything from earrings, bracelets, and necklaces, to toe rings, anklets and brooches.

Frazer and Haws has two ranges available in 92.5 sterling silver. Their Scarpia range is made of silver studded with crystals. The range is available in vibrant colours such as fuchsia pink, turquoise, green, scarlet and purple.

"This range is aimed at young working women. It has clean cut lines and is meant for day wear," says Rai. Scarpia is priced between Rs 500 and Rs 5,000.

Then there is the Faux collection which is sterling silver studded with zircons and lab-created stones. "Instead of using semi-precious stones which would hike up the price of the jewellery without giving it the kind of look we want, we use artificially created stones in a range of colours," says Rai.

So there is yellow topaz with a tinge of red and other fiery colours. But it is their zircons cut like diamonds which really make the range special. Set in sterling silver with a platinum finish, the zircons dazzle like diamonds.

"This range is more sophisticated and is meant for evening wear. The focus here is on the stones," says Rai. The Faux collection is priced around s 1,600 for rings, Rs 6,000 for bangles and around Rs 36,000 for necklaces.

Amrapali, which has designed jewellery for Hollywood movies such as Troy and Bollywood films like Rog, specialises in both ethnic as well as semi-precious stone-studded jewellery.

"Stone jewellery is really in nowadays. A range of colours means that you can match clothes and jewellery. It is a part of your wardrobe," says Khanna.

So you can buy jewellery in every possible colour from blue, pink and purple to green, yellow and red. Even in these colours there are different shades. So just match your outfit with the jewellery for the new look.

Though stone-studded jewellery is definitely more popular nowadays, purely ethnic jewellery continues to hold a certain section spellbound.

"Purely ethnic is also popular with all age groups. Young girls like to do fusion dressing. So Western wear is worn with traditional jewellery. Then there are some women who swear by ethnic jewellery. It depends upon how comfortable you are," says Khanna.

Amrapali held a special exhibition of Troy jewellery after the movie was released in India. "The earrings and necklaces worn by Helen of Troy in the film were all sold off and we do not have any stock left," says Khanna.

However, these can be specially ordered. So if you want one of those pieces walk into one of the Amrapali stores and order it. The Troy earrings are priced around Rs 800-900 while the Troy necklaces are priced around Rs 1,800-2,000.

Lifestyle store Ravissant also has a range of silver jewellery specially designed by their team of in-house designers. The range includes earrings, bracelets, pendants and necklaces. The jewellery is made in silver with semi- precious stones like labrodorite, garnet, turquoise, black onyx and moonstone.

The prices for the different pieces depends upon the design and the stones used.

Unlike traditional silver shops where the price of the jewellery depends upon the weight of the item, in shops like Amrapali, Ravissant and Frazer and Haws, you are paying more for the design rather than the amount of silver used. So what are you waiting for? Clearly, silver is the new gold.