All that glitters is gold

Navigating through the narrow streets of Parrys, Chennai, one can never guess that within the cloistered, narrow and seemingly unimportant buildings lies a closely interconnected network of men meticulously toiling in the dark tiny cubicles forging designs on gold. Goldsmiths, known as 'Achari' or 'Asari' have existed in Madras since unknown ages, and presently there are only a handful left, leaving the strenuous job for more lucrative careers. As we enquire around asking for the 'nagha asari kadais', we are pointed towards a three-storey building on Edapalyam, with a note 'All these buildings have naghai asaris, walk into any of them!' We cross the threshold and explore the not-so-glamorous world of how gold jewellery is crafted.

A typical goldsmith abode in Parrys, Chennai, provides no obvious indication to the glittering profession within

Poonga Nagar Ponn Velli Naghai Thozhilalar Sangam takes care of all the goldsmiths in Sowcarpet and Parrys region. In earlier days, the goldsmiths claim that in Madras, this corner was the only source for Gold jewellery and it is from here that other goldsmith’s originated and spread to T.Nagar, Perambur, Mylapore, Triplicane, Washermanpet etc. Even now, Poonga nagar, as Sowcarpet or Parrys was called, has the maximum number of goldsmiths- over 3000 members. Any issues with work, or legal problems, are taken care of by the sangam. It was officially registered in 1992, but existed even prior to that.

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A gold jewel is passed thorough many hands before it takes its final avatar as an ornament. Division of labour is highly specific - there is one person each for melting, seeing, moulding, polishing, stone-setting - and one for chains, bangles, thaali ornament etc. A single 'aachari' receives an order, he takes leadership for that jewel, and requires the help of all his fellow goldsmiths to get the final job done.

Raw '999' gold biscuits, as they are called, are made into '916 gold', by adding copper and silver, in the percentage of one gram of silver for 10 grams of gold. These are melted together, to form a single solid mass. In the olden days this used to be measured in ratios - as 10:1 or 8:1 - as opposed to the modern day computerised demarcations of 916 gold. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine]

A goldsmith holds out a raw gold biscuit in his palm

The raw gold biscuits are smelted with copper and silver, in the percentage of one gram of silver for 10 grams of gold. These are melted together, to form a single solid mass.

In smaller goldsmith spaces, gold coins are melted by a hand-held gas flame to form a solid mass, which is then cooled

The melted gold is then extruded using machines into either threads or strips, based on the jewel to be created. It is cut to length - measured using a scale of 1 foot. This is done by designated set of professionals formm whom golmsiths come purchase, or give their raw gold biscuits. [endif]

A typical extrusion process, where a gold bar is extruded into thin flat threads for making a chain

Making of a jewel

Required ring template is chosen, and the mould case is filled and packed with extremely fine sand made form brick waste mixed with wax or oil to give it grip. The template is placed in the mould case engraving the packed sand with the required mould shape. Gold is heated to melting point, poured into the mould through the opening, and allowed to stay for as little as 15 seconds - and the ring is formed. Some rings are engraved with various designs or names.

The process of making rings using moulds, followed by finishing and carving as per design

Machinery for making bangles are more complex than the rest. The outer marking are made in the bigger machine, and the smaller one is used for making markings on the inner side. Machinery used for carving through gold is tipped with diamond, as that is the only thing that can carve through gold. Machinery maintenance needs to be done once every week to keep it in good condition.

Machinery for making bangles are quite more detailed and require expert skills. The tip of the carving machine is diamond, the only stone that can carve through gold.

Polishing is finally done to add the glimmer to the gold jewel. This particular job is principally taken over by Muslims, as they have the license to purchase cyanide required for the polishing of Gold. They charge around Rs.10 for polishing a small pendant to Rs.50 for a chain. After the polishing, the jewleery is inlaid with stones as per design.

Polishing the gold jewellery is the final stage. Be assured that if you walk around these dark corridors, you will find gold jewellery randomly lying around

Precious stones are inlaid into the jewellery in a painstaking process, one story at a time

Edapalayam in Parrys has several buildings housing small rooms for goldsmiths doing various jobs. Built for this purpose, each complex houses at least one of every job needed to make a jewel from start to finish. In these dark and no light and ventilation conditions, it is difficult to get more direct customers as they hardly have any imageabiltiy. Each goldsmith pays rent of around Rs.3,000 a month.

The making of the traditinal south indian bridal thaali ornaments.

Their income is in the form of wastage - plus on average Rs.50 for labour charge. With the advent of high-end jewellery stores, customers prefer to go to shops as they get a wider variety of designs and can purchase immediately. Over 90% of their job is received through bigger shops that take a certain commission from the customers. Most goldsmiths claim that jewels made by hand, on order, will be of stronger consistency then those made by machines, as the extrusion process is done by hand, preventing possibility of weak links. Machines make lighter-weight jewellery and won't have a life longer than two years.

Temple jewellery is made by drawing designs on gold plates and then pressing them on stone molds and carving the details

At present, there are over 3,000 men in the goldsmith business with an average salary of Rs.15,000 - 20,000 a month. The goldsmiths traditionally belong the Vishwakarma community and are sometimes described as an Indian caste. The community comprises five sub-groups—carpenters, blacksmiths, bronze smiths, goldsmiths and stonemasons—who believe that they are descendants of Vishvakarman.

Gold wastage is swept and melted to form gold bars again. When you walk in here, be sure to wipe your feet well before going out, because here, all that glitters, is indeed gold.

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