Old Delhi was once known as Shahjahanabad. It has been a city where the traditional arts and crafts have flourished. There's the 350-year-old silver market called Dariba Kalan in the Chandni Chowk area, which be traced back to the Mughal Empire. Many artisans who practise the craft of silver embossing, locally known as chitai, still live near the Jama Masjid area of Old Delhi. Their work is still exported to different countries around the world.

The craft of chitai traditionally involves shaping sheets of silver, and then embossing them to create different decorative items. The royal patronage they once used to receive declined post-Independence. This meant that some artisans chose to move out out of Old Delhi. Now, mechanisation and demands for mass production have seeped into most areas of manufacturing. However, seasoned silversmiths of Old Delhi still practice chitai work. The traditional embroiderers, zardozi workers, makers of silverware and tarazu (traditional brass weighing scales) also live here.

Many exquisite silverware items are made in the narrow lanes of Old Delhi. This includes trophies for the Reliance Cricket World Cup (1987), the Jawaharlal Nehru Cricket Cup (1989), the Sheikh Mohammad Football Cup in the UAE, and the Vince Lombardi Baseball Trophy in the US.

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