With gold prices constantly rising over the past long time, the use of gold plated forming jewellery popularly known as fashion or costume jewellery has gained momentum as the sales has almost doubled during the last one year.
According to industry sources, thanks to high gold price, upper middle class and higher income class in the country has increasingly started moving towards gold plated jewellery.
Imitation or gold plated forming jewellery has a very thin gold coating on copper base. Hardly 200 milligram to 2 grams of gold is used for forming purpose on copper articles.
Gold prices have crossed to Rs 32,000 per 10 gram and as a result a large number of gold consumers are turning to fashion jewellery mainly to wear in parties and small family functions. Lalit Lathiya of Rajkot-based Bhuvneshwari Creation said, "The use of forming jewellery or fashion jewellery has almost doubled in the past one year due to high gold prices. Not only in India but demand for such jewellery has increased in overseas markets as well.”
According to jewellers in Rajkot, there are about 500 showrooms specially for fashion jewellery in Gujarat alone. Both local manufacturers and leading brands are venturing into forming and imitation jewellery to cash on the flourishing market. Rajkot is the key supplier of this kind of jewelley as the city is known for its skilled artisans using the finest quality materials and making attractive designs.
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat are some of the main states, having manufacturing of attractive pieces of jewellery using a variety of semi precious stones, metals and other materials.
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Mumbai-based Ritesh Mehta, partner of Kalp Jewellers said, "New market for forming jewellery has opened in South America, UK and Arab countries where there is a population of Indian origin people.”
"Overall, the trend for fashion jewellery has seen a sharp growth of over 60 per cent in one year. Overseas demand has also increased by 20-25 per cent during the same time. When jewellery with gold plating in available for Rs 1,500, why one would spend Rs 15,000 for real gold?," said Mehta. According to Lathiya, "Apart from price factor, people are more inclined towards forming jewelley as it reduces their risk from theft and chain snatching incidences." Due to its fragmented and unorganised nature, it is difficult to estimate the size of the forming or imitation jewellery industry in India.