“Silver is chic and elegant. You can wear it with any outfit — ethnic, fusion or western! Also, it's cost-effective. If the investment value increases, I would definitely buy more silver,” said Pooja Roy, a resident of Ballygunge. This Dhanteras, many like her in Kolkata said the lustre on their wish-lists wasn’t just gold.
“If, after some time, you don't feel like wearing the same stuff, you can always melt it and get the silver value,” said Gouri Ray of Glow n Glitter in Ballygunge. That flexibility, combined with a fresh, modern aesthetic, has pushed silver into sharper focus. Jewellery shoppers, who once reserved silver for temple coins or occasional trinkets, are now seeking it as a daily wearable, mixing contemporary silhouettes with global design sensibilities.
At P.C. Chandra Jewellers, the new silver line Rihi was pitched not as a substitute for gold but as “redefining luxury with a modern, wearable metal that’s versatile, expressive, and effortlessly chic,” said managing director Uday Kumar Chandra. The brand promises 92.5% purity certification and merges global designs with contemporary Indian craftsmanship. As customers hesitate before splurging on gold, such silver collections become aspirational yet accessible.
In conversations with local retailers, many noted that when budgets shrank, consumers trimmed jewellery weight rather than switching to gold-plated brass or German silver. “If customers wanted to spend less,” said Ray, “they went for a smaller size or maybe a pair of earrings instead of a necklace.” The appeal was in owning precious metal with less risk without compromising on style.
From adornment to asset: Silver’s growing investment pull
Silver’s resurgence is not purely aesthetic. On global markets, the white metal has gained far more than gold this year, driven by supply constraints and a squeeze in liquidity. Silver surged about 70 per cent on the London market in 2025, eclipsing gold’s roughly 55 per cent rise. Part of the rally stemmed from industrial demand, for electronics, solar panels and green technologies, which added a different demand vector from gold’s safe-haven play.
In India, silver prices broke records. On October 14, the spot rate hit Rs 1,85,100 per kilogram, and by October 15, silver neared Rs 1,90,000 per kilogram in cities across the country. Meanwhile, gold also marched ahead: 24K traded at about Rs 1,24,530 per 10 grams and 22K at Rs 1,18,600.
So, silver is straddling a line between ornament and asset. Anecdotally, jewellers said many buyers still see it as fashion rather than a serious investment, But, the distinction was blurring. In Kolkata, for example, people haven’t fully swapped gold for silver, but are giving silver a place in their festive and everyday lineups. “Till now it was more fashion value than investment, but investment value is coming up also,” said Ray.
Hallmarking, purity certification and guarantees
One major shift in the silver market was a push toward regulation and trust. Until recently, silver items sold without certified purity were common, leaving buyers vulnerable to misrepresentation. That changed as officials mandated hallmarking of silver, making purity certificates compulsory.
Brands in the premium segment have doubled down. The Rihi collection carries a certified 92.5 mark and promises authenticity and a warranty. Other large jewellery houses such as Senco Gold & Diamonds, and Tanishq, have also begun experimenting with lighter silver lines or mixing silver with gold in hybrid collections, positioning silver not as a fallback but as a complementary metal. This shift helped build buyer confidence in a market where the notion of “pure silver jewellery” was historically murky.
Jewellery brands go silver
The entry of established jewellers into silver segments signals evolving strategies. P.C. Chandra’s Rihi is a case in point: crafted for the younger, fashion-conscious generation, it has benchmarked design, purity and credibility. Long regarded as a stalwart in gold and diamond, P.C. Chandra’s move shows how legacy brands were adapting to changing demand.
Similarly, Senco Gold in recent years has been offering lighter, affordable lines and occasional silver-themed sub-collections to tap younger buyers. Tanishq, while still dealing primarily in gold, has also explored alloy mixes and lighter jewellery to capture a part of the market that viewed gold as too heavy or expensive.
In Kolkata’s showrooms, jewellers report increasing interest from women and men looking for statement silver cuffs, layered chains, geometric earrings and minimal everyday pendants. While gold remains the standard for auspicious buys, silver is being treated as a versatile, trend-driven metal in the same conversation.
The future: Silver’s growing role in investments
As gold continues to climb, silver has quietly staked a claim as a dual-purpose metal — ornament and asset. Its volatility is higher and its market smaller, but that also means a sharper upside in a rally. Analysts warned, though, that silver lacks the institutional support gold enjoys, such as central bank reserves, and corrections can bite harder.
Still, the indicators are telling. More buyers are asking about buy-back policies, warranty and purity, rather than just design. Jewellery brands have responded with hallmark guarantees and silver collections tailored to the new wave of consumers.
