Metallic zari
Zari made without real gold or silver, usually from a metal-coated polyester film or a coated copper wire.
Also: imitation zari, artificial zari, polyester zari
Metallic or imitation zari is made without real precious metal. One kind is a thin polyester film coated with aluminium and given a gold or silver colour, cut into strips and wound on a yarn. Another is copper wire, plated with a silver colour and then polished to look gold. Both are lighter and cheaper than real zari, do not tarnish as silver does, and are widely used in everyday and party sarees. They shine very brightly when new. They can lose colour or become brittle over time, and they cannot be recovered for value like real zari.