Lucky stone sales zoom in Raipur

Information technology professional Dilip Jain is trying to find his destiny in lucky stones at a jewellery shop in the Chhattisgarh capital.

"The sales of gem and lucky stones has increased considerably in Chhattisgarh as people are attracting to change their fate with a piece of stone," said Gopal Soni of a leading jewellery shop in Raipur. On an average, ten customers everyday are visiting his outlet to find stones according to the recommendations of the astrologers.

According to Soni, lucky stones start from the range of Rs 500. "However, there is no upper limit and it can run into crores," he added.

A minimum five carat stone is advised for better result. Since the lucky stones, Soni said, are fitted in gold or silver rings, it provides double benefits to the jewellers as most of the people make the rings in the same shop from where they purchase stones.

The local jewellers are bringing lucky stones from Jaipur. With demands increasing, they are now placing orders in Kolkata, and Mumbai as well.

The gem and lucky stones business has certainly boomed in Chhattisgarh with the sale graph assuming new height this year. "The sale (of the lucky stones) could be somewhere around Rs 50 lakh to Rs 60 lakh per day in Chhattisgarh," said a leading jeweller.

"The market is witnessing a rise of 20 per cent every year," astrologer Satya Biswas told Business Standard. People are living in frustration and want immediate remedies to overcome from their problems, Biswas added.

"The stones are very important and they do influence a person to improve the personality or change the luck besides solving the problems," Biswas claimed, adding that people were facing problems and the best option was to try lucky stones.