Kundur Sathya Narayanan, Kerala: With the festival of Onam just around the corner, Lakshmi Menon is busy trying out her new ornaments.

However, Lakshmi and many others like her can’t afford real gold, as prices have shot up to over 8,800 rupees for 10 grams.

Laksmi has opted instead to buy the much cheaper rolled gold jewellery. And while the rolled gold jewellery shine like real gold, Lakshmi also doesn’t have to worry about thieves.

"The cost of gold has been increasing every day and it is not affordable for me so I have been using rolled gold ornaments for a long time now," says Lakshmi.

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A small town in Kerala's Thrissur district manufactures a sizable amount of rolled gold ornaments sold in the market.

The rolled gold industry in Ollur is over 200 years old and employs over 5,000 people.

Many small-scale units have been set up with investments ranging from 5000 to 5 lakhs rupees. Ornaments are made with designs imported from Mumbai, Kolkata and even Korea.

Says manager, Paul & Bros Company, E A Raphael, "Since gold has become very costly, there is great demand for rolled gold ornaments made in Ollur. We export them to all parts of India and even to Dubai."

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Exquisite designs of rolled gold rings, necklaces and pendants are available to buyers. And with prices ranging from as low as 50 rupees to 1500 rupees, you can still dazzle admirers without burning a hole in your pockets.