Anjali Jewellers, Bowbazar

When: 7.30pm

What we saw: A completely packed showroom with people sitting outside on stools, waiting for their turn to go in. “I have come with my mother to buy a necklace for my elder sister. She is getting married in December. Though we bought all the jewellery when gold prices had dropped, we decided to buy the necklace on Dhanteras because it is auspicious,” said Sangita Naskar, 17, a resident of Narendrapur.

Pop picks: Heavy jewellery

Buy-buy on till: Midnight

Shop speak: “The attractive offers and the upcoming wedding season kept the customer flow intact at our stores,” said Anargha Chowdhury, director, Anjali Jewellers.

Sawansukha Jewellers, Camac Street

When: 7pm

What we saw: Though this shop faced a drop in customer footfall, those who came bought quite a bit. “I am shopping for my mother and my wife. We are buying jewellery sets. We postpone our gold buys for this festive day,” said Anirudh Kothari, 39, a resident of Salt Lake.

Pop picks: Silver coins and diamond necklaces

Buy-buy on till: 4am

Shop speak: “The overall turnout was good.

We hardly had any customer returning empty-handed. The peak hour started at 7.30pm. The puja mahurat was at night, so people flocked in rather late,” said Siddharthaa Sawansukha, CEO, Sawansukha Jewellers.

Nemichand Bamalwa & Sons, Kankurgachhi

When: 10pm

What we saw: The turnout in the evening was good, but the customer count dwindled in the later hours. “I buy gold every Dhanteras, but I limit the amount of jewellery that we purchase on this day because I don’t want to buy in a hurry. I am buying a gold coin today,” said Anju Jain, 48, a homemaker.

Pop picks: Gold coins

Buy-buy on till: 2am

Owner speak: “The jewellery sales have dropped this year. The trend is towards bullion. We, however, have our regular customers coming in,” said Vinay Bamalwa, director, Nemichand Bamalwa & Sons.

MP Jewellers, Vivekananda Road

When: 9pm

What we saw: The rush was over rather early. Though the shop recorded a reasonable footfall, the usual hustle was missing. “My husband is buying gold coins and I am looking at diamond jewellery. The high gold rates have forced us to buy less gold than other years,” said Pratima Mukherjee, a resident of Nagerbazar.

Pop picks: Light gold jewellery

Buy-buy on till: 1am

Shop speak: “The import rules and the bad pricing of gold have hit the market,” said Chandrakanta Roychowdhury of MP Jewellers.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds

When: 6pm

What we saw: About 50 people browsing various collections. Deepa Ghosh Chowdhury, 49, was seen shopping for bangles with her sister. “This is a time when shops have good offers. Thus we postpone our jewellery buys to this day,” she said. Swarup Kumar Banerjee, 43, had come looking for a pendant for his wife.

Pop picks: Gold jewellery, mainly necklaces and bangles

Buy-buy on till: 1am

Shop speak: “Till 6pm, we had about 350 customers. People are visiting us for our popular designs. The trend is more towards buying gold today,” said Rajiv Menon, store manger, Malabar Gold and Diamonds.

Text by Shubhi Tandon, pictures by Pradip Sanyal