Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 27: High gold prices are stretching middle-class budgets in India. Some buyers are turning to silver instead. Jewellers are widening their silver ranges ahead of festive demand.
Gold remains the anchor of Indian jewellery. But its price is testing many middle-class budgets.
Ten grams of 24-karat gold now costs about ₹1.5 lakh. The same money buys roughly 650 grams of silver. That gap is about physical metal, not investment returns. For a gift, an idol or a necklace, quantity matters.
Jewellers report that some buyers are responding to that arithmetic. Silver, long secondary to gold, is gaining a larger role.
Jewellers rework their business
Nagnesh Pachchigar runs SN Jewellers in Surat. He is a third-generation diamond jeweller. Today, he says, silver earns him more than diamonds.
The metal contributes as much as 35% of his annual revenue. He expects 40% of his yearly silver sales during the festive month. That season begins with Navratri on October 11.
Pachchigar calls silver “the next gold”. He says middle-class families increasingly choose silver as affordable gifts.
His figures describe one business, not the whole jewellery market. Still, they show how some retailers are reshaping their product mix.
Festive demand builds
Industry bodies expect a broader lift. Surendra Mehta is national secretary of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association. IBJA estimates Diwali silver buying will rise 17-18% from last year.
That is a forecast, not a confirmed sales figure. Several jewellers also expect silver to take a bigger share of festive purchases. The coming weeks will test those expectations.
More than jewellery
The shift reaches well beyond necklaces and bangles. Retailers are offering silver ornaments, idols, gifting products and even furniture.
Silver’s lower cost makes larger objects possible within modest budgets. A silver idol or decorative piece can fit where gold cannot. That widens the range of buyers jewellers can reach.
Imports pick up
Supply is no longer a bottleneck, according to Mehta. The government restricted silver imports in May. The curbs were partly meant to limit foreign-exchange outflows. Those restrictions were eased in July.
Imports subsequently rose sharply. Commerce Ministry data show silver imports topped $1 billion in August. That marked a 127% rise from a year earlier.
Imports and retail sales are not the same measure. The data do not show how much imported silver reaches jewellery counters.
A budget question, not a verdict on gold
High gold prices are changing how some Indians divide jewellery budgets. Gold keeps its cultural and commercial place. Silver is gaining at the margin, as jewellers adjust their shelves.
Whether festive substitution becomes lasting consumer behaviour remains an open question.
