Travels in India (Tavernier) 81: Frauds in Silken Stuffs.

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Silken stuffs can vary in breadth, length, and quality. The length and breadth are ascertainable by measurement, the quality depends upon whether they are uniformly woven, whether the weight is equal, and whether there is no cotton introduced into the web, as the Indians very often introduce it.
The Indians, not knowing the art of gilding silver, put into their striped stuffs threads of pure gold; on this account it is necessary to count the number of threads to see if the stuff contains the requisite quantity, and the same should be done in the case of stuffs striped with silver. As for taffetas, it is only necessary to see whether they have a uniform fineness, and next to unfold some of them to see if they contain any foreign substance to increase the weight, after which, each piece should be weighed separately, in order to ascertain whether it is of proper weight.
It is in Ahmadābād where, as I have said, an abundance of these stuffs is made of gold and silk, silver and silk, and of silk alone, and carpets of gold and silver and silk, but the colours of these carpets do not last so long as those of the carpets which are made in Persia. As for the workmanship, it is equally beautiful. It is for the eye of the broker to observe the size, beauty, and fineness of the work in the carpets worked with gold and silver, and he ought to judge if it is good and rich. Finally, in the case of carpets, and in other stuffs worked with gold and silver, it is necessary to withdraw some threads to prove them, and in order to see if they are of the standard which they ought to be.