Ahmedabad’s gold and silver market was already under pressure. Then the Prime Minister urged people to stop buying gold and sales fell another 30 to 35 percent.
That double blow has left jewellers, craftsmen and shop staff across the city bracing for a difficult stretch, particularly with the wedding season approaching.
Small Jewellery Hit Hardest
The sharpest drop has been in everyday jewellery pendants, earrings, chains and rings. These are typically the bread-and-butter category for most jewellers, bought by middle-class customers for weddings and occasions. Rising prices have added to the hesitation, leaving buyers caught between urgency and affordability.
Exchange Over Purchase
Soaring gold prices over the past two to three years have steadily eroded buying power. Most customers now coming into shops are not spending fresh money. Instead, they are exchanging old gold for new pieces, keeping cash out of the market almost entirely. Traders say new liquidity has effectively dried up what’s circulating is old inventory changing form, not new demand.
Wedding Season Uncertainty
Normally, jewellery buying for November-December weddings picks up in the last week of May or the first week of June. This year, jewellers are not confident that pattern will hold. Whether wedding-season demand will recover or continue to slide is the dominant anxiety in the market right now.
Livelihoods at Stake
A prolonged slowdown won’t stay contained to shop owners. Local craftsmen who fabricate jewellery and thousands of staff employed across showrooms and smaller shops stand to lose income if trade remains depressed. Within the trade, there is open talk of families struggling to manage household expenses if the situation does not turn around soon.
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