Gold
has always constituted the most-used metal for jewellery in Assam, while the
use of silver and other metals too have been there for centuries.
Gold was locally available, flowing down several Himalayan rivers, of which
Subansiri is the most important. In fact, a particular tribe of people, the
Sonowal Kacharis were engaged only for gold-washing in these rivers.
Jorhat in Upper Assam is one place where the traditional Assamese form of manufacture
of jewellery is still in vogue, and people flock to Jorhat to get the exquisite
Assamese jewellery. Assamese jewellery include the doog-doogi, loka-paro, bana,
gaam-kharu, gal-pata, jon-biri, dhol-biri and keru, all of which have also encouraged
the modern jewellers to producing similiar designs mechanically.