Jewellery Workshops and Karigars of Kolkata

The Bengali karigar

Behind every jewellery counter in Kolkata is a karigar, the goldsmith who makes the piece by hand. The Bengali karigar is known across India for fine work — thin wire, filigree, granulation and hollow pieces that look heavy but are light. Many of the workshops behind Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar, Delhi's Karol Bagh and the big jewellers of the south are run by karigars from Bengal.

Most karigars do not sell to the public. They work on job-work for the shops: the jeweller hands over gold and a design, the karigar returns the finished piece, and the gold is weighed in and weighed out.

How a piece gets made

A shop takes the order and the design. The gold is melted and cast or drawn into wire at a casting centre; the karigar shapes, solders and sets it; it goes for polishing and then to a BIS assaying centre for the hallmark and HUID; and it comes back to the shop counter. Lightweight and machine-made pieces come from the manufacturing units; heavy bridal work is still largely by hand.

The Bowbazar lanes

The showrooms stand on B. B. Ganguly Street. The making happens behind them, in the upper floors and inner lanes — Sonapatti, Refuge Lane and the alleys around Jagabandhu Lane — in small rooms with a bench, a torch and a few karigars each. Casting centres, bullion dealers and wholesalers who supply the shops sit in the same streets.

Domjur and the Ankurhati park

Across the river in Howrah, Domjur has grown into Bengal's biggest jewellery-making belt, with workshops and manufacturing units along the Howrah-Amta and Jagdishpur roads. Nearby on NH-6 at Ankurhati is the Gems and Jewellery Park set up by the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation, where organised makers and exporters run units under one roof.

More on the craft: The Bengali karigar · Wholesale and karigar sourcing · Hallmarking and HUID

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