The promise of gold

Even for those who are used to shopping for gold every season, souqs in the UAE (the second-largest consumer of gold in the Middle East) come as a surprise — large, glittering, chunky belts and necklaces are standard display. While in other countries gold chains are hung delicately showcasing each design, here they are bunched together due to the sheer volume of items on sale. It is no surprise that for expatriate craftsmen who specialise in gold, the opportunity of working on one or two kilos of gold in a day, as compared to 50gm or 60gm a day back home, is career-defining.

Jewellery craftsmen were among the first expatriates to come to the UAE in the 19th century. The route from Gujarat to the gold souqs has stayed the same for centuries. There is no room for online recruitment, resumes or strangers. The craftsmen at Ashok Kala’s Daily Gold are all from one village, where his brother owns a shop. Shailesh Soni (23), Parag Pal (28) and Mehul Khera (23) work with Kala all day, manufacturing bangles for shops in Dubai’s Gold Souq.

With so much of the precious metal being handled, loyalty and honesty are prized as much as skill. Most craftsmen are recruited on reference. Kala says, “We leave kilos of gold in the workshop with our craftsmen, so it is important that we know who they are and where they come from.” Each time Kala needs a worker in his workshop he either tells one of the craftsmen or passes the word on to his brother.

In the village, being a goldsmith is a traditional occupation and is routed via an apprenticeship. Pal, in his late twenties, is the oldest worker at Daily Gold with 13 years of experience. Training, without pay, starts for boys as young as ten years old. He has learnt, among other things to make and repair rings, necklaces, earrings, make moulds to cast jewellery or die to stamp it. Others may learn advanced skills too such as setting stones and engraving.

Ramesh Jewellers and Traders, based in Mumbai is one of the few recruiting agencies for goldsmiths. “We have placed about 7,000 workers in 30 years and we never felt the need to take out advertisements,” says owner Ramesh Salkar.
Those who are chosen to work in the UAE come with seven to eight years of experience but are no older than 35. A starting salary of Dh600-700 is like a bounty compared to Rs2,000 (about Dh175) that a goldsmith would get in India. Experienced goldsmiths make up to Dh2,000 a month.

The workshop, a room with a makeshift mezzanine floor, is where they spend most of their day. The goldsmiths wake up by 9am, report to work within 15 minutes, eat food from the Gujarati lunch boxes delivered at the apartment that is a stone’s throw away, come back to work and continue working till 11pm. “We are up till 2am to 3am every night to relax after work. We celebrate everything from Dandiya to Diwali,” says Soni referring to the various Indian festivals. The workshop does seem very homey. It even has a tiny temple and blaring Hindi film music. “Sometimes when he listens to his favourite song, he turns out very good designs,” says Soni of his colleague, as he works covered in gold dust.

When it’s time to go home, what do the NRIs take or bring back? While most Indians are often asked for gold, Khera is wise. “I never tell them exactly when I am going to be home. If I have to go the next week I tell them there is still a month, so by the time neighbours and relatives think of gifts I’m already there!” Rather than gold accessories — prices have soared 35 per cent since January 2011 to above $1,900 per ounce in September — the Dubai-return’s goody bag includes “goggles [spectacles], transistor, make-up and blankets,” says Pal, who makes it a point to bring back clothes from India since they are much cheaper there.