I’ve had this doubt ringing in my head, each time I buy a silk saree. Kanchipuram or Kanjeevaram sarees are a dream for most women to have, and they sure are expensive. I’m a big fan of these rich, royal sarees and after years of discussions with local store owners, hours of research put into understanding silk sarees, and buying and learning the traits of a genuine one, I can say that there are a couple of fundamental tests you need to follow to identify if your kanchipuram saree is Genuine or Fake :
- Zari Test : Original Kanchipuram Silk saree borders are woven from silver zari, which is plated with 22K gold. This is basially pure red silk thread which is covered in silver and dipped in 22K gold. To test, take a few loose threads from the zari pallu or border. When you take off the gold layer from the thread, the inner thread should be red, irrespective of the saree colour if it’s genuine.
- Silk Test : Kanchipuram silk sarees are woven from pure mulberry silk. To test, take a few loose strands from both the weft and the warp and burn the threads. Pure silk, will leave behind ash which when touched, will crumble into a fine powder that smells like burnt hair or burnt leather. Fake fibers like synthetic ones, become a hardnened lump after being burnt.
Apart from these, you can also identify a Pure Kanchipuram Silk Saree from it’s unique characteristics like a Strong contrasting border, Animal, Nature or Temple Motifs, Zig-zag line where the border meets the body.