Rings to the Rescue

“Tippy tippy tap, which color do you want” goes the sing-song game that children play. Friends are asked to pick out their favorite colors, and based on their color choice random predictions and character assassinations like “you’re a fool” are doled out. For many Indians, this game has carried over into adulthood. It’s common to see celebrities and regular folks, men and women, wear rings set with different colored stones – both precious and semi-precious – and sometimes, sporting many such rings. No these are not engagement rings or wedding rings. Folks buy these rings because they believe stones of multi-colored hues will help them have a successful career or a love-filled marriage. Each stone or color has a significance, Indian gemologists say, and power to ward off all kinds of problems from an irritating boss to bad luck. For instance, an emerald ring can fetch happiness, topaz is to stimulate thinking, a red-stone ring can boost confidence, and so the list goes on.

There’s little evidence that these rings are effective. Let’s just say its one of those beliefs that defies logic and works for those who believe in it. Gemologists in India don’t just sell you a piece of colored jewel, they also look into the “spiritual and psychic effects” of the piece, said Amit Lamba, a Mumbai-based astrologer and gemologist. No wonder then that many in India could relate to the debate over Kate Middleton’s engagement ring, which became a controversy not because it was embedded with sapphire but because of its associations (it belonged to Princess Diana).

It indeed is impressive to see and hear the clang of the many rings on former SBI Chairman O.P. Bhatt hands, or melody of “Disco King” Bappi Lahiri’s fingers. But it’s not just celebrities and newsmakers. The appeal is across a broad swathe of the population, who buy rings in gold, silver, and a combination of other metals. The sky high prices of gold and silver, the base metal of most rings, hasn’t dimmed the enthusiasm or business, said Rishi Malhotra, owner of M. Rajsons Jewellers, a shop in Greater Kailash, a posh Delhi locality. “In spite of increase in the prices, there has been minimal effect on the sales,” he said. “Both businessmen and service-class come in equal numbers to buy stones and rings.”

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