{"id":2399,"date":"2026-10-03T08:33:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T08:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/10\/03\/rising-silver-sales-offset-high-gold-prices\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T08:33:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T08:33:27","slug":"rising-silver-sales-offset-high-gold-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/10\/03\/rising-silver-sales-offset-high-gold-prices\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising Silver Sales Offset High Gold Prices for Indian Middle\u2011Class Buyers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"9fece8afa224fd09e54b043d0febfb58\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- NR ATF -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8898941184964366\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"4839033563\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>As India\u2019s festive season begins with Navratri on October\u202f11, a noticeable shift is occurring in the country\u2019s jewellery market. Prices for 24\u2011karat gold remain steep, with 10\u202fgrams costing roughly Rs\u202f1.5\u202flakh, prompting many middle\u2011class consumers to consider silver as a more affordable alternative. At current rates, the same amount of money would purchase about 650\u202fgrams of silver, whose price stands at approximately Rs\u202f2.3\u202flakh per kilogram.<\/p>\n<h2>Affordability drives silver demand<\/h2>\n<p>The price differential is reshaping buying patterns. Silver, traditionally a secondary metal to gold in Indian jewellery, is now being viewed as a primary option for festive gifting. Industry observers note that the lower entry cost makes silver appealing to households that find gold out of reach. Some affluent buyers also see silver as an investment, hoping that its price could climb back toward Rs\u202f4\u202flakh per kilogram.<\/p>\n<p>Surendra Mehta, national secretary of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association, estimates that silver purchases during the Diwali period will increase by 17\u201118\u202fpercent compared with the same period last year. This growth is expected to be reflected in the proportion of jewellery sales that feature silver, with several jewellers and an industry expert telling ET that silver\u2019s share of festival\u2011season purchases will be larger than in previous years.<\/p>\n<h2>Jewellery traders pivot to silver<\/h2>\n<p>In response to changing consumer preferences, jewellers are expanding their product ranges to include a broader array of silver items, from traditional ornaments and religious idols to furniture pieces. One jeweller reported that silver now accounts for 25\u201130\u202fpercent of total revenue, up from about 10\u202fpercent two years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Nag\u200besh Pachchigar, a third\u2011generation diamond jeweller based in Surat, highlighted the shift in his own business. He said he now earns more from silver than from diamonds, with the metal contributing up to 35\u202fpercent of his annual revenue. Pachchigar expects that 40\u202fpercent of his yearly silver sales will occur during the month\u2011long festive period that starts with Navratri, underscoring the metal\u2019s growing importance.<\/p>\n<h2>Policy changes boost silver imports<\/h2>\n<p>Government policy has also facilitated the silver surge. After imposing import restrictions on silver in May to curb foreign\u2011exchange outflows, the government relaxed those rules in July. The change prompted a sharp rise in imports, with commerce ministry data showing that August imports exceeded $1\u202fbillion\u2014a 127\u202fpercent increase over the same month a year earlier.<\/p>\n<p>The influx of silver is helping to keep domestic supply steady, removing a potential bottleneck for jewellers seeking to meet heightened demand during the festive season.<\/p>\n<h2>Higher gold hallmarking fees raise fraud concerns<\/h2>\n<p>While silver enjoys a stable hallmarking charge of Rs\u202f35 per article, gold\u2019s hallmarking fee has risen from Rs\u202f45 to Rs\u202f75 per piece under the BIS (Hallmarking) Amendment Regulations, 2026, announced on September\u202f14,\u202f2026. The higher cost has sparked worries that some dishonest jewellers might resort to forged hallmark marks, especially in tier\u20112, tier\u20113 and tier\u20114 cities where consumer awareness is lower.<\/p>\n<p>The Gem and Jewellery Council (GJC) has appealed to consumer affairs minister Pralhad Joshi and the Bureau of Indian Standards to revert the gold hallmarking fee to its earlier level. Meanwhile, buyers can verify a Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID) number using the BIS Care mobile application, though many remain unaware of this option.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, the combination of elevated gold prices, more affordable silver, relaxed import restrictions, and evolving regulatory costs is reshaping India\u2019s jewellery market. Traders are betting heavily on silver to capture festive\u2011season sales, while policymakers grapple with the implications of higher hallmarking fees on consumer protection.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With 24\u2011karat gold at roughly Rs\u202f1.5\u202flakh per 10\u202fg, Indian middle\u2011class shoppers are turning to silver, whose price of about Rs\u202f2.3\u202flakh per kg makes it a more affordable festive gift.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[299],"tags":[2628,1761,216,2627,1762],"class_list":["post-2399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-festive-season","tag-gold","tag-india","tag-jewellery-market","tag-silver","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}