Indian Gold Book:Indian Gold Book - Gold Bars Worldwide

Around 85% of gold jewellery is handmade or mainly handmade. Around 15% is mainly machine-made,
but its proportion is increasing.
There are approximately 3 million active goldsmiths and ancillary workers. Most work in units with less than
5 workers.
A goldsmith typically has a capacity to fabricate 10 g of carat jewellery each day.
Units are under pressure from retailers and consumers to produce innovative and higher quality jewellery.
Large quantities of gold jewellery are fabricated in every region. Mumbai dominates the fabrication of machine-made
jewellery.
BACKGROUND
Fabrication takes place in cities and large towns, as well as in many smaller towns and villages.
Most units are small, normally comprising less than 20 workers, many less than 5 workers.
Most are contracted to retailers and wholesalers, although some act as wholesalers and retailers in their own right. Many
retailers and wholesalers own fabrication units.
Most handmade jewellery is fabricated in the locality where it is retailed, although the output of major fabrication centres
such as Kolkata is available nationwide. Machine-made jewellery tends to be sourced from major centres such as Mumbai
and New Delhi.
Retailers and wholesalers normally supply the gold when placing an order. A typical leadtime for delivery is one week. The
inventory of gold held by most units tends to be low.
The income of goldsmiths is low. Monthly income typically ranges from less than Rs 5,000 (US$ 100) to Rs 15,000
(US$ 300), working 10 or more hours per day, 6 - 7 days per week.
Many units and goldsmiths work sporadically according to seasonality and fluctuations in local demand.
NUMBER OF WORKERS
Since the repeal of the Gold (Control) Act in 1990, the workforce appears to have grown from around
1 million to around 3 million.
In the last Gold Control Statement in 1989, licences were held by 380,000 goldsmiths, each allowed to employ one ancillary
worker. According to the trade, there were also many unlicensed goldsmiths.
Trade estimates of the size of the workforce nationwide vary greatly. Some estimate the workforce at more than 5 million.
However, anecdotal evidence (at this time) suggests that the number of active goldsmiths and apprentices may be less than
2 million, although ancillary and part-time workers might exceed 1 million.
There are several reasons. When asked to estimate the increase in goldsmiths in their own locality since 1990, most
fabricators refer to multiples of 2 - 4. Trade estimates tend also to include artisans and ancillary workers associated with
the diamond, silver and imitation jewellery industries. Even at an annual fabrication level of 2,000 tonnes, the daily output
of 3 million goldsmiths and ancillary workers would be less than 3 g of carat gold.
FABRICATION CENTRES
Mumbai is now regarded as the largest fabrication centre due to its high output of machine-made jewellery.
The 5 most important centres are listed below. Their jewellery is widely available regionally or nationally.
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JEWELLERY FABRICATORS
Region State City
North New Delhi New Delhi/Meerut
East West Bengal Kolkata
West Maharashtra Mumbai
Gujarat Ahmedabad/Rajkot
South Tamil Nadu Coimbatore
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE INDIAN GOLD MARKET