With the start of the wedding season in Gaziantep, imitation products have begun to take their place on the shelves. Citizens researching gold prices during the wedding preparation process have started to show interest in imitation jewelry that is so realistic it is indistinguishable from gold.
Citizens interested in jewelry such as bracelets, rings, necklaces, and earrings for daily life have recently started to prefer stores that sell imitation products due to the rise in gold prices.
Jewelers, meanwhile, warned citizens to be careful when buying real gold, stating, "Citizens should not buy gold from anywhere other than reliable places. They should not buy from lower-quality, unreliable sources just to save 50-100 TL. This could lead to different kinds of problems for them."
"WE DECIDED TO SWITCH TO THE IMITATION SECTOR"
Stating that interest in imitation products has increased due to the rise in gold prices and that it is difficult to distinguish them, Çağatay Kasapoğlu expressed that they decided to switch from the jewelry business to the imitation sector.
Kasapoğlu said, "Due to the decrease in customers buying gold, we decided to switch to this sector. There is no difference from real gold. Only jewelers who are masters of the craft can tell.
An average citizen cannot distinguish them in any way. These are products with the exact same craftsmanship as gold," he said.
"UNTIL 2-3 YEARS AGO, DEMAND WAS LOWER"
Stating that every variety of imitation product is available and that the most interest is in plain, unworked bracelets, Kasapoğlu said, "In Gaziantep, the most preferred imitation bracelets are plain, unworked models, laser-cut bracelets, twisted bracelets, matchstick-style, and Ajda models.
In addition to brides-to-be, ordinary citizens buy them for accessory purposes and show more interest than brides.
Until 2-3 years ago, demand was lower. Our average prices for imitation products start at 100 TL for gold-plated products and 150 TL for gold-plated products," he stated.
"THEY BRING THEM TO US THINKING THEY ARE REAL GOLD"
Jeweler Cuma Kaya, who says citizens bring imitation products thinking they are real gold, said, "Imitation products are also used to defraud people. They prefer fake, that is, imitation products instead of real gold. Imitation products have multiplied excessively in the market.
Nearly 15 citizens bring us imitation products every day thinking they are real gold. Because prices are so high, citizens inevitably turn to imitations.
A 10-gram real gold bracelet far exceeds a citizen's minimum wage. Therefore, citizens are forced to turn to imitations because of this," he said.
"EVEN WE CANNOT DISTINGUISH SOME OF THEM"
Stating that imitation products are produced with such high quality that they cannot be noticed, Kaya warned citizens to be careful, saying, "As a jeweler, it is easy to distinguish, but some imitation products come in that even we cannot distinguish. We struggle unless we test them with fire.
They are being released into the market in various types. There are those that are half-real and half-fake, and those with a high copper content. If citizens are buying real gold, they should not buy it from anywhere other than reliable places. They should not buy gold from lower-quality, unreliable places for the sake of 50-100 TL. This could lead to different kinds of problems for them. There is no room for games with gold," he said.
News Source: İHA
