The first strategy to determine the difference between an authentic banarasi silk made with traditional weaving can be the price range. On average it takes about 15 to 30 days to completely weave a single fabric of banarasi silk. However, the number of days may increase depending on the type and complexity of the pattern that is being weaved. Normally around 3 weavers work on a single piece of drape, one weaves the foundation of the saree, second handles the revolving rings in making bindles and the third one assists in designing the borders. Designing of the motifs begins at the bundling stage and may delay the completion of the whole process again depending on the complexity of the motifs used. Ideally a banarasi saree 5600 wires, each of them around 45 inches wide and to muster all these together for weaving requires immaculate teamwork. Bundling all these together, the base of the fabric is usually 24 to 26 inches long. This process of weaving the saree, bundling it and weaving the motifs is a painstaking one which not only requires time but immense amount of talent and practice. The designing of the motifs is an especially hard work considering the meticulous needle work required along with the consistency in all of these motifs. This is one of the reasons along with the original price of a pure silk thread that the fabric demands a high cost whether it be in the making stage or in the selling stage.
An original banarasi silk saree, made with the most basic quality of silk and primary motifs will cost a minimum of Rs. 8000. Although for them to be affordable for everyone, the artisans have begun to use polyester threads that are coloured in either gold or silver. Yet, the patronage for making these drapes are limited these days and decreasing even more with the introduction of new innovations. This is happening because a power-loom provides cheaply made fabric and uses dye to colour their threads instead of using natural fibres. This is a problem that not only leads to extinction of our traditions but also decreases the total revenue of our country given the fact that countries like China have an easy availability to huge power-loom factories that mass produce these fabrics and sell them in the Indian market for a significantly lower price.
Apart from the price scale, the motifs on the sarees can be an identity to the original banarasi silk. The most enchanting features of the saree can be said to be its intricate motifs. These motifs are what makes the fabric different from all of the others found in the world. These meticulously designed patterns came as a hereditary knowledge to the artisans of Banaras but only a few were able to save it. From generation to generation, kids in their families were taught to hold a needle and weave these designs onto the fabric, and each of these generations incorporated some innovation of their own into them. Today there exist a wide variety of these motifs. Some of them have their origin form Persia, some from the traditional weavers of India, while some are the mixture of both the cultures. In simple words, a motif is the most basic unit of a design or the smallest unit of a pattern. In textile art a motif is also known as a block and it may be repeated multiple times or a single time in different ways to create a pattern. These motifs are often inspired by nature, cultural or religious factors and are often representative of the different styles from an era gone by, and has a distinct identity of its own in a pattern or a design. Some of these enticing motifs include peacock motifs; Inspired from the paintings found in the Indus Valley Civilization, Buddhist sculptures, artefacts from the Gupta period and Mughal miniatures, parrot motifs; symbolising passion and courtship are used in the traditional designs of booth bride and groom, hamsa motifs; a representation of spiritual purity, lotus motif; a symbol of the eternal order of the union of earth, water and sky, it represents the power of life, elephant motif; symbolises royalty, prosperity, fertility, strength and wisdom, mango motif; considered as a symbol of fertility, yali motif; believed to keep the evil away and kalga or bel, a string of upright leaves called jhallar at the outer edge of border that make Banarasi sarees very predominantly unique. Motifs like these original ones cannot be found on the cheap power-loom made sarees.