Celuk "The home of jewelry" Bali

The journey from Kuta took about 40 minutes and Celuk was easy to find. Along the way I stopped at a traffic light. A friendly local pulled next to me, “Excuse me Sir are you going to Ubud, I live in Ubud.” he said. “No” I said, “I’m going to Celuk.” He followed right behind me for a couple of miles then at another light said “I have a relative in Celuk with a shop, you want to look?” I thought ‘I’m sure everyone in Bali has a relative with a silver shop in Celuk’ and told him thanks but I’d check it out alone.

Balinese jewelry is unique, and Celuk is the home of much of it. Nearly every family in Celuk is involved in some aspects of the delicate gold and silver work, which has become very famous over the years.

Balinese silversmiths are known worldwide for their intricate designs and meticulous attention to detail. Their skills are passed down from generation to generation. Many fake "Bali beads" are now being produced in other countries (India is the worst offender). These are often cheap imitations that are cast in molds rather than handcrafted as described above. Many Indian-made "Bali beads" are also merely silver plated rather than made of solid silver.