The Gazetteers Department

In Bhir district goldsmithy is mostly a hereditary occupation followed for centuries by people from the Sonar community. The goldsmiths generally represent two types; those who make or mould ornaments and those who sell them. According to 1961 census there were in this district as many as 928 persons engaged in this occupation. They included goldsmiths and silversmiths as well as jewellers.

The goldsmiths' shops are common in towns. The goldsmiths in villages could have but little business and those in towns are hardly busy all through the year. The business is brisk from October to May as people in rural areas are economically well-off during this period. Most of their ceremonies and functions also fall during this period. The rainy season, on the other hand, slackens the business, and the goldsmiths engage themselves in agriculture, if they possess any land.

The tools and equipment of a goldsmith although numerous mean only a small capital outlay for him. They mainly consist of, besides furnace, an anvil, hammers, files, seals, scissors, pliers, wrenches, bellows, blow-pipes, etc. The entire set of a small establishment can hardly be valued over Rs. 250. But over and above this, the goldsmith also needs some furniture including cupboards and safes to keep his valuables.

The operational costs of goldsmith's work are also small. The accessories required by him include sal ammoniac, borax, saltpetre, lac, coal and a number of other minor things. The chief raw material required for making ornaments is, however, either gold or silver. Generally it is supplied by the customers, but at times it is also purchased by the goldsmith himself from the markets of Bombay, Kolhapur and Jalna.

The ornaments made by goldsmith consist among other things ekdani, chappalhar, silver girdle (kamarpatta), ear-rings or studs, rings, sakhalya, etc. They usually have a local demand because The customers' choice is generally ruled by the patterns and designs current in that particular locality. The customers also have faith in goldsmiths whom they know and arc, therefore, reluctant to approach outsiders. It is, however, not at all impossible for a goldsmith to influence the demand for ornaments through his individual merit and skill. Since his work involves extreme delicacy and great deft, it is highly valued. His charges generally depend upon the weight of metal, (either gold and silver) used in making ornament. Thus for gold ornaments the charge is Rs. 5 per tola, but for silver ornaments it is only Re. 0.12 per tola. The charge may also vary according to the type and design of an article, as given below.

Ekadani—Rs. 10.
Locket--Rs. 4.
Silver girdle (kamarpatta)—Rs. 1.50
Ear-rings or kudya—Rs. 1.25.
Ring—Rs. 2.

The net earnings of a goldsmith in Bhir district come up to Rs. 150, if the establishment is small but may well exceed Rs. 300, if it is of a fairly big size. In the latter case he usually employs some assistants who are paid according to their skill and experience but generally not more than Rs. 30 to Rs. 50 per month. Sometimes they are also paid on piece-work basis. Their employment is, in most cases, seasonal and they are required to work longer hours in the absence of any restricting enactment.

With the passage of the Gold Control Order in 1963, the business of most of the goldsmiths in the district has been adversely affected, and with no alternative source of income to fall upon, their financial position has deteriorated considerably.