Ornaments are widely regarded particularly in the rural parts, more as means for the safe-keeping of money than for decoration or aids to beauty. People do not like to spend much on the goldsmith's labour or skill which fetches no value on the reconversion of the ornaments into cash. As a result we find that except for the patronage of a few princes of old or rich persons ornaments are but specimens of clumsy form and workmanship. Gold ornaments are simply hammered or punched into shape or rudely engraved and are practically never cast or moulded. They are often made hollow from thin plate or leaf, the interior being filled with lac. So also is the case with silver which is also rarely cast.

Ornaments differ in type as used by men and women and by boys and girls. They are worn on the head, in the ears, in the nose, on the neck, across the shoulders, on the arms, wrists and fingers, round the waist, on the legs and on the toes. They differ according to the caste and community and also as used by males, females, boys and girls.

With Hindus gold is very sacred metal; and gold ornaments must not on this account be worn below the waist, as to do so would be considered an indignity to the holy material. Brahman, and Maratha woman will not have ornaments for the head and arms of any baser metal than gold. Other castes should, if they can afford it, wear only gold on the head. Gold and silver in ornaments is also considered to have a protective magical effect, like that attribute to charms and amulets. In the making of ornaments the recent tendency is to substitute gold, silver and precious stones by alloys, culture peals and synthetic stones.

Men now rarely use any ornaments. However, a savakar may display a bhikbali, a gold ring set with pearls and pendantemerald, hanging by the upper lone of his ear. He may also use gold salakadis or a poci on the wrist, and a goph or chainwork, with a locket round the neck. If fairly off, a baniya's everyday ornaments may be a silver girdle and a gold armlet worn above the elbow, a pearl ear-ring, a gold or pearl necklace, and finger rings. Well-to-do cultivators have gold ring in the ear, kadas of solid silver on the wrists, or a dandkade of silver wornabove the elbow. A silver chain work girdle known as kargota is used round the waist be many.

Fashions in the ornaments of ladies have considerably changed during the last fifty years, the general tendency being to avoid gold ornaments of heavy weight.

Head ornaments of any kind as used by ladies are not much in evidence. However, some hair ornaments such as mud, agraphul ketki-kevada, veni, rakhadi, candra-surya, nag-gonde, and gonde phule all made of gold are still to be found in old rich families. Birdi-bijora and bhang-tila, a decorative ornament for the whole head is to be found among Rajputs and Marvadis. Flower-shaped ornaments such as gulabace-phul, caphe-kali, etc., as braid-ornaments are current.

Ear ornaments such as caukadi kudi preferably of pearls and of precious stones are in vogue, bugadya, balya, kap are in the use of old women. Ear-rings of various types are now getting into fashion.

Nose ornaments: nose-rings such as nath and besar as cremonial ornaments worn by married ladies in the left nostril are current. Nath of the rich is studded with pearls and gems, that of the poor is made of gold; besar is smaller in size. Other types of nose-rings are murni, mugval, phuli, kanta, camki and bulak.

Neckless such as mangalsutras of various types, the black beads being stringed together by different pattern of gold symbolically by married ladies are now-a-days worn by them as an ornament. Other types of necklaces in current use are; bakulihara, bormal, candrahar, capalahar,ekdani, joudhalipora, kolhapuri-saj, mohanmal, putalyaci-mail, and pohe-har; sari, thusi, vajratik are getting rare; petya, pota, laphpha, tanmani, and pende are made of pearls and to be found current among the rich.

Hand ornaments such as kankane (bangles) of patterns known as bilor, diamond, double-diamond, hodighat, parica-pailu, tin-pailu and calcutta pattern, Delhi pattern and Madras pattern are current : Patlya (wristless) known as jalicya, minyacya, pailucya, punacya, and todicya all made of gold are current. Costlier bangles studded with pearls, diamonds and precious stones are in the use of rich.

Armlets such as bajubands or vakis of the types known as hatricya, modavakya, rudragath, tulabandi made of gold or silver are still in wear.

Foot or leg ornaments areusually made of silver and as worn by lower classes thy are tode, tordya, sakhalya and vale. Masolya, jodvi, phirvi, salle, are silver toe rings and are used by ladies on marriage day, and continue to be used by lower classes.

Child ornaments such as bindalya, mangatya, kaditode which are wristlets, and goph, hasli, sakhali taiti which are necklaces are made either of gold or silver. Sakhali and sarpoli are used round the waist and ghungur-vale and vale are worn on the ankles.