Out of work, goldsmiths in Coimbatore search for new pastures

Coimbatore: S Kalidas, 34, of Kempatty Colony, says working at a gold manufacturing unit is like a life or death situation now. "I quit the industry as I was under severe mental distress," he opens up to TOI.Like Kalidas, several others have quit their jobs in the gold manufacturing units in the district owing to the mounting uncertainty in gold and silver prices. "Though I love the job of making ornaments, I had to give it up 10 months ago as the earnings from it weren't sufficient to look after my family. Now, I am driving a rental auto and I earn around Rs800- Rs 000 a day," says Kalidas.
Uncertainty over the gold price is forcing many goldsmiths to leave the industry and seek new employment opportunities. Although the job shift was under way for the past three to four years, it accelerated in 2025 following a steep hike in the price of yellow metal. Those who left the job are now working as security guards, auto drivers, painters in the construction sector, hawkers or street vendors. R Bhuvaneshwari, 48, a goldsmith from Dharmaraj Street, says unlike earlier, when she had work for all seven days a week, she has work just for two days nowadays. "I earn a meagre Rs600 a week. My three children were also working in gold ornament making units. They have quit their jobs. One of my sons is running a food cart. He earns at around Rs1,300-Rs1,500 a day. My younger daughter has moved to Mysuru to do farming." Gold ornament designing and manufacturing units are also, meanwhile, getting shut down. Once a hub for handmade jewellery manufacturing, drawing customers from across India and abroad, Coimbatore has today almost it now lost its identity. M Nataraj, owner of a gold ornament making unit from Kempatty Colony, says there was a time when he employed 10 goldsmiths. "Today, only four goldsmiths are working in my unit. A year ago, I moved to a smaller house that could accommodate only four to five people, as I could not afford to pay the rent and salary for the labourers. The situation was better in 2024, when we were handling nearly 500 grams of gold a week. But now we hardly handle 50 grams." He says the demand for gold bars and coins is on the rise. "Due to the price hike, only a few are investing in gold jewellery. Moreover, the price fluctuation is a loss to us. For instance, the price recently dropped to Rs13,900 per gram for 22 karat gold. Work orders were given for that price. But when we finished the work and handed it over, the price rose to Rs14, 700 per gram. In such cases, we get only the lowest price." M Ganesan, 52, who runs a micro unit on Dharmajaraj Street, says while the gold price has gone up, labour charges provided to the goldsmiths were on the decline. "Earlier, it was 5% of the making charges, which later reduced to 3%, and now it is less than 2%. Also, people are now preferring machine-made jewellery, because of its short manufacturing duration and the ready-to-wear designs available at shops."