Lucknow, Oct. 16 -- Amid the skyrocketing prices of gold and silver, the sale of precious metals is expected to soar ahead of Dhanteras as buyers eye a high return on investment, according to bullion traders. Besides bullion, shoppers are opting for light, multi-purpose jewellery, silver and gold-plated items and small, silver pieces in the gifting segment. The emerging trend shows simple silver coins are no longer the only gifting option available at the jewellery stores. This year, silver coins printed with images of Laxmi, Ganesh and Saraswati, packed carefully with essential items for puja like roli, rice and kalewa, dhoop and havan cups, silver-embedded photo frames, vastu items like shree charan and shree yantra are widely available in the market. Adesh Jain, a jeweller in the Chowk bullion market, said on Wednesday the price of 10gm 24-carat gold was Rs 1,31,000 while 1kg 999 silver was available at Rs 1,91,000. "The market is already buzzing with customers, including investors. We have several pre-bookings already. The sales are expected to go a record high this Dhanteras when people turn up to buy precious metals looking at the returns. Laxmi Ganesh idols, from Rs 3000-3 lakh, are available in the market," Jain said. Tanya Rastogi, director of the Indian Bullions and Jewellers Association (IBJA) and owner of a city-based store, said, "Instead of trying to push their budgets, people are opting for light and multi-purpose jewellery. On the Dhanteras day, the market might suffer a bullion crunch because many are wanting to buy some. Pre-booking of gold and silver is advised as those with pre-bookings will get their bullions at the preference. Silver is expected to soon outperform the returns from gold. Until the last few years, people used to buy Electro Plated Nickel Silver (EPNS or German Silver) but now silver jewellery and items are preferred watching the spike in the prices." "People are preferring Turkish jewellery, which is dainty and light-weight. We have also prepared gold necklaces as light as 3.5 gm. We have Laxmi-Ganesh idols beginning from Rs 200 and gold polished ones starting from Rs 600 onwards," Vinod Maheshwari, UP convenor of the All India Jewellers and Goldsmith Federation said....