India takes a shine to silver

By Biman Mukherji

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - With two silver rings dangling from each ear and sporting a topaz bracelet that matches a shimmering blue shirt, 33-year-old Ashish Singh saunters into a jewellery shop to pick another bauble for his collection.

A businessman from western India, Singh trawls his favorite retailers every week on the look out for bargains -- but nothing excites him like a new piece of shiny silver.

"I have got a big box of them, but I just love silver," says Singh as he scans the shelves at a south Delhi store.

"And this bracelet, I just had to have it because it's what Salman bhai wears," he adds, an admiring reference to Salman Khan, a macho Bollywood superstar.

He's not alone.

Rapid economic growth over the last few years has created a thriving 60 million-strong urban middle class increasingly willing to splurge for pleasure.

As a result demand for fashion jewellery in affordable silver -- priced as low as $1 and up to $100 -- is rising sharply in a market where purchases were traditionally in gold and for most were an investment as much as a style statement.

Buying gold would set you back ten times as much.