Solid 925 sterling silver, 35 to 95 grams for a plain band, sized to pass over the knuckles: that is the short checklist for a silver kada for men, and this guide explains each item. A silver kada is the most common first kada for men who are not wearing one for faith. It has more presence than steel, costs far less than gold, and suits both a kurta and a shirt. It is also where buyers get caught out most, because "silver" on a label can mean anything from solid 925 to plated brass. This guide covers what to check before you pay: purity, weight, construction, design, hallmarking and how the price is built.
What makes a good silver kada for men?
A good silver kada is solid 925 sterling silver, sized correctly for your hand, and made with enough metal to hold its shape. Everything else, the design, finish and stones, is taste and budget. Four checks decide quality:
- Purity: a 925 stamp, ideally with a BIS hallmark.
- Weight: a net silver weight on the bill that matches the look.
- Construction: solid rather than hollow for daily wear.
- Fit: inner diameter matched to your knuckles for a closed kada, or to your wrist for an open one.
925 vs 999: which silver is right for a kada?
925 sterling silver is right for a kada; 999 is too soft. Sterling is 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metal, usually copper, which makes it much harder while keeping the colour of silver. Pure silver is soft enough to bend on the wrist and scratches quickly.
| Grade | Silver content | On a kada | Hallmarkable under IS 2112:2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 999 (fine silver) | 99.9% | Too soft; bends and marks easily | Yes, added in 2025 |
| 990, 970 and 958 | 99.0%, 97.0% and 95.8% | Still soft | Yes |
| 925 (sterling) | 92.5% | The practical standard for daily wear | Yes |
| 835 and 800 | 83.5% and 80% | Harder, less silver | Yes |
The last column changed recently. According to the government release announcing silver HUID, the revised Indian standard for silver, IS 2112:2025, replaced IS 2112:2014 from 1 September 2025 and permits hallmarking in seven grades: 800, 835, 925, 958, 970, 990 and 999. A 999 kada can now carry a BIS hallmark at that grade, but the hallmark does not make it any harder, so it will still bend and mark on the wrist.
Two things are not silver at all. German silver (also called nickel silver) is an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc with no silver in it. Silver-plated kadas are base metal with a thin silver skin that wears through. Neither holds value, and nickel can irritate skin.
How many grams should a silver kada weigh?
A plain solid silver kada for men usually weighs between about 35 and 95 grams. Weight comes from three measurements: width, thickness and size. The table below shows approximate weights for a plain, solid band with a flat rectangular section, worked out from the dimensions and the density of sterling silver (about 10.4 grams per cubic centimetre).
| Width x thickness | Size 2.8 (63.5 mm inner diameter) | Size 2.10 (66.7 mm) | Size 2.12 (69.9 mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 mm x 2.5 mm | about 32 g | about 34 g | about 36 g |
| 8 mm x 3 mm | about 52 g | about 55 g | about 57 g |
| 10 mm x 4 mm | about 88 g | about 92 g | about 97 g |
| 12 mm x 5 mm | about 134 g | about 141 g | about 147 g |
Rounded, domed or cable profiles weigh less than a flat band of the same width, and hollow kadas far less. Use the table as a reality check: if a wide, thick-looking kada weighs 25 g, it is hollow or not solid silver.
What the numbers feel like on the wrist:
- 30 to 40 g: light, easy under a shirt cuff, fine for all-day wear.
- 50 to 70 g: noticeably solid; the weight most men associate with a proper kada.
- 90 g and above: heavy and bold. Comfortable once you are used to it, but you will feel it at a keyboard.
Solid or hollow, open or closed?
Choose solid over hollow for daily wear, and choose between open and closed based on how easily you want to put it on.
Solid vs hollow. A hollow kada is a tube of thin silver. It looks big and costs less, but it dents when knocked, cannot really be repaired, and is very hard to resize. A solid kada costs more because it contains more silver, and it can be polished, reshaped and resized for years.
Closed vs open. A closed kada is a continuous ring that slides over the knuckles, so it has to be sized to your hand. An open, cuff-style kada has a gap at the back, slips on from the side of the wrist, and is sized to the wrist itself. Open kadas suit men with large hands and slim wrists.
Which silver kada design suits you?
The design decides how the kada wears day to day, not just how it looks.
| Style | Weight feel | Daily wear | How it is sized |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain round or flat band | Depends on section; the most versatile | Excellent; easiest to polish | Inner diameter over the knuckles |
| Open cuff-style | Often lighter for the same look | Very good; easy on and off | Wrist size; gap adjusts slightly |
| Cable or twisted (torque) | Medium; texture hides scratches | Very good | Inner diameter, or wrist if open |
| Engraved or textured | Medium to heavy | Good; recesses darken with tarnish | Inner diameter |
| Stone-set (diamonds, black diamonds) | Medium to heavy | Good with care; remove for gym and heavy work | Inner diameter or wrist |
For office wear, a 6 to 8 mm band sits under a cuff. For weddings and festivals, a wider or stone-set kada holds its own next to a kurta. Most men wear a kada on the wrist without a watch. If you are buying for faith, note that the Sikh kara is traditionally plain steel or iron, not silver.
How is a silver kada priced?
A silver kada is priced from its silver weight, plus making charges, stones and GST. The metal is often the smaller part of the bill, which is why two kadas of the same weight can differ many times over in price.
The components, in order:
- Silver value: net weight in grams multiplied by the day's silver rate. Rates are quoted for fine silver, so the 925 content is what counts.
- Making charges: casting, shaping, polishing, engraving. On a plain band they are modest; on a hand-finished or intricate kada they can exceed the metal value.
- Stones and setting: each diamond is priced by size, colour and origin, and each is set by hand. The diamond kada guide covers which settings hold up on a kada.
- GST: added at the rate applicable when you buy.
Because silver rates move daily, compare kadas on net weight and making charges rather than on a headline price. Our explainer on why 925 silver jewellery costs more than its metal walks through a full bill.
How do you check a silver kada is genuine?
Look for the purity stamp, the hallmark and the bill. Genuine sterling silver is usually stamped 925 on the inside. A BIS hallmark adds independent assurance. BIS's mandatory hallmarking order is written for gold jewellery, and silver hallmarking is voluntary, so an unhallmarked 925 silver piece is not automatically fake, but a hallmark is still worth asking for.
- Stamp: 925, and ideally the BIS mark with the grade.
- Bill: net silver weight and purity in writing.
- Magnet test: silver is not magnetic. If a magnet grabs the kada, it is not solid silver (though passing the test does not prove it is).
- Seller: ask whether the kada is solid, and whether the price is based on weight.
For how to read the stamps, see our guide to the 925 silver hallmark in India.
How to care for a silver kada
Wear it. A silver kada worn daily stays brighter than one kept in a drawer, because contact with skin and fabric polishes it.
- Take it off for the gym, swimming pools (chlorine) and heavy manual work.
- Wipe it with a soft silver cloth when it dulls.
- Store it in a zip bag or pouch away from air when not worn.
- Have a jeweller polish it or check the stones once a year.
To weigh silver against steel and gold for daily wear, see gold vs silver vs steel kadas. To get the size right first time, use our kada size guide.
How AXIOM approaches this
AXIOM makes its kadas in solid 925 sterling silver rather than plated base metal, and on these pieces the stones and the setting work, not the silver weight, make up most of the price. The Strength Kada and The Torque Kada, a cable cuff-style bracelet, are both set with natural black diamonds, from ₹82,500 and ₹1,14,600 respectively at the time of writing. Each is made to order at the Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai and ships free and insured across India. See the full bracelets and kada range.
The practical takeaway
Buy solid 925, check the net weight against the look, and size a closed kada to your knuckles. If the price seems high for the weight, ask what the making and stones account for; if it seems low for the look, ask whether it is hollow or plated.
