Dhanteras Gold Sales Drop 10-15%, Silver Shines Bright — Is Lightweight Jewellery the New Trend?

The gold sales this Dhanteras reported a drop of 10-15 percent, as per the initial estimates. The buyers mostly went for lightweight and diamond studded jewelry, an ET report cited leading jewellers. Still the price of the metal went up 25 precent with most buyers preferring to buy in the range of Rs 1-3 lakh, the report said. Silver, on the other hand, showed quite a bit of promise as its demand rose by 30-35%, jewellers said. "What is interesting is that the young crowd is back to the retail outlets to buy jewellery as the precious metal has become lucrative to them because of its high returns,” ET cited Saiyam Mehra, chairman of All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council as saying. "The current volatility in the stock market has also prompted them to look at gold, where the bull run is yet to be over.”This year the total gold sales is estimated to be around 22 tonnes, 12 percent down from 25 tonnes previous year. “Reports trickling in from pan India show that lightweight and studded jewellery, jadau, and kundan jewellery have been preferred by the customers,” Mehra said. Gold prices have risen over 30% this Dhanteras compared to last year. On Tuesday, the day of Dhanteras celebrations, gold reached a peak of Rs 81,211 per 10 grams, including a 3% goods and services tax. Meanwhile, silver prices soared to Rs 1,00,809 per kilogram.