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The estimated worth of the gold in jewellery privately owned in India alone (mainly by housewives) is estimated to be worth $600 billion. To put that in perspective, total US gold reserves are valued at around $420 billion.

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/07/14/indias-600-bil...

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That's very interesting. My hypothesis would be that even in that case the value Indians give to gold jewelry isn't just because they like shiny yellow metal, it's because they're using gold as a way to keep savings in a place where they don't trust the currency. In fact, from your article:

It’s in steel cupboards and in bank vaults across the country, where India’s housewives and other private owners have stashed their jewelry and gold savings.

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