India is 'inspiring London jewellers'

Green Street in London is transforming itself into the go-to place for India jewellery, according to Reuters.

Situated among the sari shops and Bollywood DVD stores, jewellers offering yellow 22-carat gold bangles lie in wait along with other cheaper costume jewellery alternatives.

Green Street is very quickly becoming one of the fastest- growing areas for South Asian shopping," said Jayant Raniga of PureJewels and a member of the steering group of the Green Street Jewellers' Association (GSJA).

Around 24 fine jewellery stores can be found on the street in east London, a number which has doubled in ten years.

Street jewellers say they account for one per cent of all fine jewellery sales in the UK. The Goldsmith Magazine reports that this figure was £2.5 billion last year.

Gordon Hamme, publisher of the magazine, told Reuters it was the South India culture of giving gold as an investment which was driving the trend in Green Street.

Green Street is located in central Newham.