New Delhi, Sep 23 - He is striking when the silver is hot. With gold prices hitting the roof, Britain-based Indian origin jewellery designer and entrepreneur Suveen Kapoor wants to take 'sterling silver' - the new fashion alloy - to the masses.

Kapoor designs earrings, pendants, necklaces, cufflinks and bangles set in silver and embellished with small zirconia stones. He has just launched his new line of sterling silver jewellery, 'The Real Effect', in the capital.

'Sterling silver is an alloy containing 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent by weight of other metals with a purity of 925. The silver alloy that I am using has 95 percent silver,' Kapoor told IANS in an interview here.

He said since gold prices started going up in 2001, silver has became a 'fashion statement across the world'.

According to market figures, the price of silver fell marginally this week.

'The idea behind my range is cheap and cheerful. I have been targeting working women who wear light accessories. Silver matches almost every outfit. I had initially started the range with synthetic stones one-and-a-half years ago. The designs were light and the trinkets were small, priced between $5 and $30,' he said.

But Kapoor later decided that he had to design a premium range if his sterling silver jewellery had to sell in India.

'It is a micro-pave collection in which small stones measuring nearly 1 mm in diameter were set together on a delicate silver base with a machine. The design is so intricate and clear that you can make out every stone.

'Some of the small earrings have as many as 500 zirconia or American diamonds. I have stayed away from ethnic designs because they are big, chunky and difficult to manage as daily wear.