Kolkata–the “it” place to shop in India– has been a wedding shopping destination for years.  Brides from all over the Western world and South Asia go to Kolkata to do their wedding shopping.

Here are the Sari-Clad Bride’s top shopping destinations in Kolkata;

Park Street courtesy of India Mike

Courtesy of James Nichloas Sears

• Park Street: For major wedding sari shopping for the bride, mother of the bride, sisters, and close family that you need to gift saris, you can rely on Park Street for a one-stop shopping experience.  On the Sari-Clad Bride’s recently Kolkata shopping spree, Park Street was her favorite destination. In two days on Park Street, we bought over 30+ beautiful saris from stores such as Sarovar, Savera, Rangoli,  and several other stores.  Additionally, you will find stores for designers kameezes along Park Street. Just a simple stroll down Park Street will cover all your bases for wedding sari shopping! Read more

Courtesy of goldzeit.eu

We all know that it is very important that a desi bride be well-versed in the matters of gold jewelry.  So here are some facts that every bride or bride-to-be should know before shopping for gold:

The “karat” of gold refers to the percentage of fine gold versus the percentage of other metals.  Since gold is too soft to be used in its purest form, it is usually mixed with other metals, also known as alloy, in order to harden and strengthen gold jewelry. The more gold is in the combination, the larger the karat. This can be easily detected by the color of the jewelry – more yellow in color as well. However, even in the same karat category, the color of the gold can vary depending on what other types of metal or alloy are in the combination. For example, mixing darker metals such as copper can give the jewelry a more reddish tone. On the other hand if a more yellow or white colored metal is used, the gold jewelry will have a brighter yellow look. When it comes to desi jewelry, this is often defined by where the gold jewelry was made. For example Rajasthani 22 karat gold tends to be a little more bright yellow in color whereas Jaipuri 22 karat gold tends to have a darker tone on the average. This should not be confused with the finish of the gold jewelry, which is basically the paint or coating on the surface of the jewelry, to enhance the look. An example of this is the antique look which is done with paint or a colored coating on top of the 22 karat gold jewelry. Below is a breakdown of what percentage of fine gold is present in the different types of karatage:

Karatage     Percentage of fine gold
8                     33.75

9                     37.8

10                   42

12                    50.25

14                    58.5

18                     75

22                     91.75

24                     100

Source of table: Rovin, Jeff, Laws of Order, p.32.

The Sari-Clad Bride recently had the opportunity to go shopping for gold in New York City –exact location: the infamous Jackson Heights a.ka. Desi Central! There are probably twenty or more jewelry stores in this Queens neighborhood and competition is fierce. The Sari-Clad Bride was on a mission to help her friend, Syeda, shop for bridal jewelry for her last-minute wedding the very next day (look out for a post on planning a quickie wedding, coming soon)!

We discovered a few jewelry shopping basics;

• Bridal sets prices depend on karat, weight, color, intricacy of design, and whether all-gold, semi-precious and precious gemstones.
• Gold sets with gemstones are usually more expensive.
• This summer, the price of 22-karat gold varies between 32.5 dollars per gram to 36dollars per gram–depending how well you could bargain (in which case, taking along a particularly annoying Auntie might help!).
• Tip: Pay in cash and you won’t have to pay taxes, which can be a hefty sum, considering the thousands of dollars one set costs!

Here are some traditional, 22-karat bridal sets our friend, Syeda, tried out.

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Pohela Boishakh

Every year, on the first day of the year, Bengalis all over Bangladesh and India celebrate Pohela Boishakh–the Bengali New Year.  This day is filled with food, songs, new saris, etc.  However, one tradition that I learned about during my recent trip to Dhaka, Bangladesh was that of ‘Hal Khata’.  Hal Khata, which literally translates to ‘New Notebook’ in Bangla, is a custom in which jewelry buyers pay up all their debts to jewelry stores on Pohela Boishakh.  In order to show their appreciation, jewelry stores invite their customers for a feast on Pohela Boishakh, which occurs mid-April of every year.

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