The use of zari in Indian textiles has a long tradition, which is believed to have started during the Mughal era. Originally made out of real gold and silver by wrapping a flattened strip of the precious metal around a core of silk, today most zari you find is imitation zari, made from silver-plated copper wire, or what’s called metallic zari, made from a metalized polyester film. The world’s largest producer of zari (in all of its various manifestations) is Surat, on the west coast of India, where the tradition of making the real stuff has been handed down from generation to generation. Read Less