Russia’s oldest jewelry-maker, Russkiye Samotsvety, which celebrates its centenary this year, has stuck to a somewhat paradoxical survival strategy. Jade Bangle After the economic crisis, the Russian jewelry market saw steady growth in the sales of economy-class items, which is natural, as most people’s incomes have been dropping. Jade Necklaces The company hopes that some competitive mass market products should help to close deals.
According to official statistics, the share of counterfeit jewelry on the Russian market amounts to about 3 to 5 percent; Dokuchayev claims the scale of the problem is much greater. Jade Jewelry He says stores in Russia are swamped with counterfeit goods. “Visit any of your local jewelry stores, and most of what you find there will be cheap low-quality Chinese stuff that can only remotely be regarded as gold,” he said. Jade Rings “Of course, the shops do not officially acknowledge that they are selling Chinese jewelry: These rings, chains or pendants are typically marked as ‘individual private enterprise by Mr. Ivanov or Mr. Petrov.’ Nobody checks the authenticity of the alloy of these products.”