Tweet

With the  wedding season on in full swing the jewellery stores are abuzz with activity. Shops  stock jewellery in different styles and exquisite designs, each having a style  of their own. The extravagant and varied patterns bear testimony to the  remarkable skills of goldsmiths and traditional gold artisans in India.

Importance of Gold

For Hindus,  jewellery is associated with religious occasions such as the `vivaha` or the  marriage ceremony. A bride`s trousseau may contain ethnic, intricate pieces  designed by master craftsmen as well as pieces with straight and simple lines  made using state of the art technology. For married women, the Mangal sutra or  `thali` signifying unity and long life of the husband is very important. It is a  gold pendant made in a variety of designs depending on where the bride  originates. Depending on the financial status of the family, the bride gets  some gold as `streedhan` from her parental family. Owing to its easy  convertibility into cash, gold jewellery is regarded as security for the bride  as she enters her new life. These  days Gold is also bought on auspicious days such as `Akshaya Thritiya` Buying  gold signifies prosperity in the family.

Varied styles of Gold Jewellery

The kundan style was influenced by the Mughals and these  chokers and necklaces are quite irresistible. Precious stones like diamonds,  rubies and emeralds are embedded in gold.

Filigree work jewellery, mostly done on silver, can be  found in gold too. Fine filigree work can be found in Orissa and Andhra  Pradesh.

Jaipur is well  known for its Meenakari enamel jewellery. The patterns are usually tiny and  floral, in red, blue and green.The temple jewellery of Nagarcoil consists of traditional  gold ornaments studded with red and green semi-precious stones.In Assam, soft 24 carat gold is used to make earrings and  necklaces modeled on the local flora and fauna. All these places were  historically the starting points for their unique styles.

Tips for buying Gold

   
• The jewellery should be hallmarked. Hallmarked  jewellery will have five markings: the BIS logo, the fineness number, the mark  of the hallmarking centre, year of marking and the jeweller`s mark.
   
• See  if the carat of the piece of jewellery is mentioned on it, apart from the  hallmark of the jeweller. This is genuine proof that it is indeed real gold.
   
• In  choosing gold jewellery, the primary aim should be to build up a collection of  the first five essential pieces, which are: necklace, bracelets, long earrings,  big round earrings and different pendants.
   
• 24  carat gold is considered best for investment.
 

The  plethora of styles, designs and even price ranges ensures that the glitter of  gold will not dim for the Indian bride any time in the near future.