BHUBANESWAR: It’s no denying the fact that jewellery enhances the personality of an individual. Modern-day jewellery is quite popular due to its craftsmanship and patterns. However, it’s the traditional ones which are gradually gaining momentum due to its cost effectiveness and versatility. Jewellery, mostly made up of black metal seems to have carved out a niche for itself in the world of fashion.
Thousands of years ago, this type of jewellery was the primary traditional ornaments among the people. Several processes of refining such metal were carried out to separate it from impurities. Sulphur was used to turn molten silver into a black metal. Later, this metal is combined with alloys like copper, zinc and nickel to manufacture jewellery in a variety of colours.
There are a number of attractive designs of black metal for making earrings, necklaces, pendants, anklets, nose rings, finger rings, bracelets and bangles among others. These are designed in traditional trendy patterns, which can be donned in casuals as well as professional attires.
Earrings come in various kinds such as large stoned, hoops and jhumkas among others. Anklets with tiny bells, flower petals, chains and kundan designs are quite popular as well. Black metals necklaces, which are designed with traditional patterns, were quite famous in the Mughal era too.
Black metal adds an antique look to ethnic wears. This type of jewellery seems to be attracting the youth due to its traditional yet fashionable look. This is a big reason why jewelers are stacking up their stores with such items.
Jewellery made up of black metal being less expensive come in a wide range too. Men as well as women prefer to show off such ornaments during special occasions.
Black metal jewellery is available in many stationary shops. Street vendors also sell it roadside as these items seem to be bought by customers on a regular basis. Kolkata seems to be the best place to buy these items as the cheapest ones are available there. The price ranges from Rs 15 to Rs 30,000. These are also available online at very reasonable prices.
“Many girls who are fascinated by black metal jewellery come to my store. We get huge inflow of customers especially during the evening. My daily earnings range from Rs 1500-2000. I am doing pretty well for myself in this business,” said Rajesh, a local shopkeeper.
“For us, this type of jewellery is more appealing than gold or silver ornaments. We can rarely afford gold or silver jewellery. And when we do buy such jewellery, we have to stick to it for a long period of time. However, cheap pieces of jewellery made up of black metal can be changed frequently,” said Priyanka, a college student.
There are many places in the city to buy such jewellery like Market Building and Saheed nagar hata among others. Such pieces are also available in social networking sites like Instagram and Facebook, where people sell cheap yet beautiful pieces of jewellery. People can also avail Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Myntra, Nyka, Zabong and Craftsvilla among others to procure such jewellery.