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.
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).
Here's some images of Bali Silver Jewelry
