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