In Balinese life, gold is more coveted than rupiah; women can tell a
man's wealth by the size of his kalong (gold necklace). Though the
traditional center for gold and silver jewelry-making is Denpasar, the
art has now also taken hold elsewhere on the island.
Dozens of gold- and silversmiths work in
Banjar Pande Mas in Kamasan, four km south of Klungkung. Once working under
the auspices of the old Gelgel court, these smiths produce large, delicately
ornamented silver and gold betel nut bowls, chased gold kris handles,
offering platters, and vessels for holy water. A market still exists for
these ceremonial objects, which are neccessary for sacrificial and exorcistic
rituals, luckily guaranteeing the survival of the craft. Younger men work
beside the older masters and learn the patterns and techniques by imitation
and repetition.
When buying expensive gold and silver ready-made
articles, it's best to find an honest, reliable, reasonable, fixed-price
shop and buy from them. Though you'll pay average prices, at least you
won't get cheated. For custom work, ferret out a kampung artisan
whose workshop is just a dirt floor, crude wood benches, and a tree trunk
with a metal spike for an anvil. If he has a ring mandrel, all the better.
At virtually any workshop/salesroom combo, you'll be able to observe a
silver-working demonstration.
Ask your hotel proprietor or other unbiased
Balinese who does good work and request to see samples of the work. The
price depends on the weight, the design, the stone, or all three. Another
approach is to buy unworked silver or gold elsewhere in Asia (at cheaper
prices) and trade it for jewelry, or give the jeweler coins with high silver
content in exchange for hand-done, made-to-order rings, brooches, necklaces.
You can bring rare stones for setting—you have your choice of some very
striking backgrounds.
Besides the souvenir and gift shops of the
big hotel lobbies in Sanur, Nusa Dua, and Kuta, jewelry is made and sold
in the village of Celuk (beyond Batubulan). For starters, Bali
Sun Sri (Jl. Raya Celuk, Sukawati, tel. 0361-298275 or 298730) has
a large collection of jewelry, gemstones, and precious stones. Since Celuk
is the first stop for tour buses after the completion of the barong
dances in Batubulan, get there before 1000 to miss the crowds. No problem
using plastic.
Kuta Beach is another center for gold
and silver jewelry; try Jonathon, Jl. Legian (tel. 0361-751584). Also check
out the shops along Jl. Raya (Pasar Ubud, Mirah, Ganesha Bookshop) and
Monkey Forest Road (Bali Rosa, Purpa) in Ubud, and Kunang-Kunang in Campuan.
Tampaksiring is well known for its wooden jewelry, carved tusk and bone,
and coconut shell ornaments. Tampaksiring's real carving center is Manukaya,
north of the Tirta Empul holy springs.
Gold
For jewelry, the ratio is three grams of gold to one gram of copper.
For traditional and modern Balinese-style jewelry, shop in the gold center
of Bali—the 15 or so gold shops (toko mas) around the busy intersection
of Denpasar's Jl. Sulawesi and Jl. Hasannudin. One of the best is Kenanga,
Jl. Hasannudin 43 A (tel. 0361-225725). These shops—and others like them
in almost any Balinese town—sell mostly traditional earplugs, gold chains,
zodiac signs, pendants, and big gold rings which Balinese men like to wear.
Here in these Jl. Sulawesi shops you'll at least be given a fair fixed
price much faster than you will in way-overpriced Celuk where you have
to bargain like mad for a fair price.
Gold is cheaper in Asia than in the West,
costing usually only around Rp25,000 per gram which is equal to about US$340
per ounce as compared to $380 per ounce worldwide. For a seven gram ring
you'll pay Rp175,000 for the gold and Rp50,000 for the filigree work. The
ring will take two weeks to complete, and most shops will even deliver
it to your hotel. Draw your design, or select a ring from the shop's showcases
and modify it. Tell them to have it finished a week before you really need
it. Allow two weeks (maximum) for completion. Take one of their business
cards and call back in a week to see how the work is progressing. Check
the work carefully as a ring or an armband can break easily, stones fall
from mountings, etc.
For a custom order, go to the two reliable
goldsmiths in Denpasar (Melasti and Kenanga) in the row of gold shops on
Jl. Hasannudin. Another tukang mas (goldsmith), capable of good
work, is at Zamrud on Jl. Sulawesi, which is opposite the line of
gold shops in Denpasar. Singaraja is also a great place to shop
for 14-24 carat gold; friendly shops all over town.
Gianyar has a few toko mas.
Silver
Balinese silver is on average 92.5% pure (they mix every 50 grams of
silver with two grams of copper). The larger pieces such as flat silver
trays, bowls, tableware, and teapots are plated and not pure. The Balinese
import most all their silver, almost always hand-construct their jewelry,
and rarely use casting techniques.
Balinese silver-filigree necklaces, bracelets,
and rings are very light, delicate, and highly decorated. A technique called
granulation is employed whereby small pellets of silver are heated until
soft enough to adhere to the piece. For the ready-to-wear, cash-and-carry
pieces, it is usually cheaper in Yogya and West Sumatra, although Bali's
silversmiths tend to be more inventive.
On Bali, the first asking price in a local
market or by a peddler is not necessarily lower than that of the exclusive
shop. Both start out at equally escalated prices. You should get them to
come down at least 40%, and in some cases as much as 60%. They may ask
Rp150,000 for four pairs of heavy silver earrings, but in the end you might
be able to get them for around Rp100,000. In the workshops east of Celuk,
simple silver stud earrings cost as little as Rp2000.
Celuk is generally spoiled by the tour buses;
they'll take only only Rp5000 or Rp10,000 off their first price. A fairly
honest shop in Celuk is Gala Silver, only a half kilometer from
the main road. Here they teach small children silvermaking. Cakra is a
nice man, speaks good English (he once worked for a travel agency), and
he'll give you a demo of the silvermaking process. He sells earrings and
rings, depending on the workmanship, for Rp30,000-35,000.
Silver items in the back lanes of Beraton
(one km south of Singaraja) are very reasonable. This is the place to have
something made—it works out to only about Rp600 per gram. Unknown to many,
here you can buy a heavy silver identity bracelet for Rp35,000; in Celuk
the same bracelet goes for Rp100,000. Rings cost Rp15,000 with your own
stone set in it (in Celuk, the same ring would cost Rp35,000).
Gemstones and Semi-Precious Stones
Gemstones are not native to Bali; most come from Hong Kong. A new phenomenon
are the gem shops opening in Kuta, Nusa Dua, and Sanur. Know your stuff.
Visit a jeweler in your home country. Buy a book on stones, gems, and jewelry.
Pearls on Bali cost about Rp100,000 per gram, or three grams for about
Rp250,000. Look for a nice lustre and round shape. Bali
Opal Center (Jl. Raya Tuban 2 D, Tuban, tel. 0361-752761) sells beautiful
amethyst (kecubung) for US$29 per carat—a faceted 43 carat stone
costs US$1260. The darker the opal, the older and more valuable it is.
White opal (kalimaya) costs US$735 for a 45 carat stone, black opal
from Java is US$8800 for a 9.79 carat stone, milky white opal from Banten
(West Java) is US$650. Also sold are chameleon opal, amber (miklak)
bracelets (US$15-25).
The Uluwatu parking lot is a center for the
sale of agate (akik) artifacts and stones: turtles, cats, frogs,
ducks, eggs, Buddha heads, bracelets, ashtrays. Their first price of Rp10,000
can be reduced by as much as Rp5000. Also bead bracelets and necklaces,
multicolored woven belts (Rp7500-10,000), and shells by the tableful.
Rare and beautiful coral plants, with their
rich chainlike floral patterns seemingly printed inside the stone, make
intricate jewel-like decorative ornaments. The colors of these 100-year-old
fossils vary from soft to warm. Kuta's Citra Batu Alam has Bali's
widest choice of coral gemstones (they also specialize in jasper and opal)
where you may choose any desirable shape and matching ring, pendant, earrings,
or buckle.