Gold gets back its glitter in Gujarat

Shambhu Nath (40), an artisan at a gold jewellery manufacturing unit in Rajkot’s Soni Bazar, is more than happy to resume his job. The skyrocketing prices of the yellow metal had rendered him jobless for almost a year. But now his employer, Kantibhai Ranparia, wants all his artisans and goldsmiths to work in 12-hour shifts each day.

After experiencing a major fall in the sales of readymade gold ornaments due to skyrocketing bullion prices, Gujarat’s gold jewellery market has regained its glitter. The decrease in prices coupled with an increase in sales and a growth in investments, has created a huge job opportunity for a large number of gold artisans in the state.

“There is a major rise in the sales of ornaments, thanks to a fall in gold prices in the international market,” said Ranparia, Secretary of Gold Dealers Association of Rajkot, which is the hub of readymade gold jewellery in India.

“Most showrooms in Rajkot have manufacturing units. Artisans, who were working for less than four hours, have to put in 12 hours of work these days. The situation is improving with more than 1 lakh artisans in Ahmedabad already resuming work,” he added.

The current trend, however, might be temporary, depending on the fluctuation in the value of the dollar. But considering the timing of the development, the gold jewellers in the state are all set to turn this trend to a golden period in terms of sales of ornaments.

With Dussera and Diwali, and the marriage season around the corner, sales of gold jewellery are further expected to go up. The period is also profitable from an investor’s point of view, considering the volatile stock market.

“After the downward trend in gold jewellery business, we are no longer used to this kind of rush at the showroom,” said Sonabhai Mandaliya, a jeweller from Bapunagar, Ahmedabad.

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