for the Tibetan village see Zari, Tibet

Zari, Tibet

-See also:*List of towns and villages in Tibet...

Zari (or Jari as traditionally called) is basically a tinsel thread meant for weaving and embroidery. It is manufactured by winding or wrapping (covering) a flattened metallic strip made from pure gold, silver or slitted metallised polyester film, on a core yarn, usually of pure silk, art silk, viscose, cotton, nylon, polyester, P.P., mono/multi filament, wire, etc. Nowadays, it can broadly be divided into 3 types. 'REAL ZARI' made of pure gold & silver, 'IMITATION ZARI' made of silver electroplated (thinly) copper wire, and metallic zari made of slitted polyester metallised film. In ancient times, when precious metals were cheaply and easily available, only REAL ZARI threads were produced. Due to industrial revolution and invention of electroplating process, IMITATION ZARI came into existence to cut the cost of precious metals. As COPPER is the most malleable and ductile metal after Gold and Silver, silver electroplated copper wire replaced pure silver. Various modern colours and chemicals are used to create/impart a golden hue instead of pure Gold. The precious metals & copper too became dearer due to huge demand in various modern industries. Thus, a cheap & durable alternative was invented with non-tarnishing properties. METTALIC ZARI came into vogue replacing traditional metals like Gold, Silver & Copper. This ZARI is light in weight & more durable than earlier editions. Also, it had the most sought after properties of non-tarnishing & knot-free / knot-less.

"SURAT" in the state of Gujarat on the west coast of India is the world's largest producer of all types of ZARI & ZARI MADE-UPS namely Threads, Cantile, Laces, Ribbons, Borders, Trims, Fringes, Edges, cordonettes, Cords, etc. The art of ZARI making has been inherited from father to son since many centuries. It is recognised as one of the ancient Handicrafts by the Government of India. Women from different communities & artisans produce Zari & made-ups for weaving, embroidery, crocheting, braiding, etc.

Zari is a type of thread made of fine gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 or silver

Silver

Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 wire used in traditional India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n and Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

i garments. This thread is woven into fabrics, primarily made of silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

 to create intricate patterns. It is believed this tradition started during the Mughal era

Mughal era

The Mughal era is a historic period of the Mughal Empire in South Asia . It ran from the early 15th century to a point in the early 18th century when the Mughal Emperors' power had dwindled...

. Today, in most fabrics, zari is not made of real gold and silver, but has cotton or polyester yarn at its core, wrapped by golden/silver metallic yarn.

Zari is also a method of traditional textile weaving in Iran.

Zari is the main material in most silk sarees

Sari

A sari or sareeThe name of the garment in various regional languages include: , , , , , , , , , , , , , is a strip of unstitched cloth, worn by females, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles. It is popular in India, Bangladesh, Nepal,...

 and ghararas. It is also used in other garments made of silk, like skirts, tops and vettis.