How to Start a Gold and Diamond Jewellery Manufacturing Business in India

Gold and diamond jewellery manufacturing runs as one chain. A design becomes a computer model, the model becomes a wax or resin master, the master is cast in gold, and the casting is filed, set with stones, polished and hallmarked. Most new units choose lost-wax casting for volume and keep a hand bench for custom orders.

Two decisions shape the rest: whose gold you work with (your own, a bank's, or the customer's on job work) and who buys from you. Hallmark and tax registration come before the first piece ships.

Scale matters. In project reports from Niir Project Consultancy Services (NPCS), a plant making 2 kg of jewellery a day needs a total capital investment of ₹670 lakh. A first-time entrepreneur is usually better off proving quality on job work first.

Casting, hand fabrication, die striking or electroforming: which route fits your unit?

Casting suits most new units because one master yields many identical pieces.

Start with casting. Rajesh Exports says its plants run hand-made, casting, stamped, studded and electroformed lines together, so add routes only when orders ask for them.

How is gold and diamond jewellery made, step by step?

1. Design. Agree weight, purity and stone count with the buyer.
2. Computer model. A 3D file fixes stone seats and wall thickness before any gold is used.
3. Master. The file is printed in resin using 3D printing or cut in silver.
4. Rubber mould. The master is pressed in rubber and cut open to leave a cavity.
5. Wax tree. Molten wax is injected into the mould, and the copies are fixed to a central stem.
6. Casting. The tree is covered in plaster and heated to melt out the wax, then gold alloy is poured in. Pure gold is mixed with silver, copper and zinc to reach 18K or 14K.
7. Filing and assembly. Pieces are cut from the tree, filed, soldered and pre-polished. Keep every filing, because it holds recoverable gold.
8. Stone setting. Setters fix diamonds in claw or channel settings under magnification.
9. Polishing and plating. Final buffing, then rhodium plating for white gold.
10. Inspection and hallmarking. Weight, finish and stones are checked before Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) hallmarking at a recognised centre.

Weigh gold issued and returned at every bench. Losses found daily are small; losses found monthly are not.

Which machines does a jewellery manufacturing unit need?

Nine machine groups cover a casting unit, and the melting and casting machine decides quality and metal loss.

Ask suppliers for a trial casting on your own design before ordering.

What does a jewellery manufacturing plant cost, and what does a diamond cost?

NPCS project reports give two reference points.

Machinery is only about 14% and 11% of the two totals. The rest is land, building and working capital, which for a jeweller is mostly metal, so the gold you hold or borrow decides unit size. A job-work unit needs far less.

Diamonds cannot be costed per kilo. They are priced by the carat and graded on cut, colour, clarity and carat weight, so cost each piece stone by stone from a rate card or grading certificate.

Which registrations does a jewellery manufacturer need before selling?

Two registrations come before the first sale: BIS jeweller registration and Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Where does the gold come from, and how do you fund it?

Metal, not machinery, is the biggest cheque, and there are three ways to arrange it.

• Job work. The jeweller supplies gold and you charge job charges. It needs the least capital; see contract manufacturing.
• Own stock. Most freedom, most money locked up.
• Gold metal loan. Banks lend gold, not cash. Under the Reserve Bank of India's Gold Metal Loans Directions, 2025, applicable from 1 April 2026, banks that import gold may lend to jewellery manufacturers, monitor end use, and cap most tenors at 270 days.

NPCS has been preparing project reports since 1994, in the format banks typically ask for.

Who buys from a manufacturer, and what can go wrong?

India's gem and jewellery exports were $27.72 billion in FY26, down 3.32% in dollar terms, according to the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) as reported by IANS in April 2026. Gold jewellery exports of $11.36 billion were flat. A new exporter wins share from other makers rather than riding growth; see export business ideas.

Three risks deserve a line in your plan:

• Purity failures. BIS draws market samples from registered jewellers and took over 30 enforcement actions in FY 2025-26, the Tribune reported. Test every batch before hallmarking.
• Gold price swings. Buy gold against confirmed orders, not forecasts.
• Stone choice. If your plan leans on studded pieces, read the lab-grown diamond business guide first.

What should you do in the first 90 days?

1. Write down monthly volume in grams of gold and the studded share. This fixes route, machines and metal needed.
2. Pick a gold route. If you will hold metal, speak to a bank before buying machines.
3. Register with BIS and GST, then send a sample batch to a hallmarking centre to learn the turnaround.
4. Run two or three months of job work to prove casting yield.
5. Goldsmiths working alone can check PM Vishwakarma, which lists Goldsmith (Sonar) among 18 trades. Other products sit in handicrafts manufacturing ideas.

A lender will want costs for your own capacity. An NPCS project report for this product covers machinery with suppliers, metal and manpower needs, plant layout, project cost, working capital, profitability and break-even. The detailed project report guide explains each part.

Frequently asked questions about jewellery manufacturing

Is diamond jewellery manufacturing profitable?

It can be, but margin comes from making charges and low metal loss, not gold price moves. NPCS reports show a return of 51% for the 2 kg a day gold plant and 34% for the larger gold and diamond plant, with break-even figures of 31% and 54%. Your result depends on volume, buyers and wastage.

What is the cost of 1 kg of diamond, and is diamond costlier than gold?

Diamonds are not priced by the kilo. They trade by the carat and are graded on cut, colour, clarity and carat weight. Gold has one daily rate for a given purity, but diamonds have none: small stones can cost less than the gold around them, and large, well-graded stones far more.

Can I start as a job worker without buying gold?

Yes. The jeweller hands you the metal and you charge job charges, on which a registered job worker pays 5% GST. Artisans who work only for jewellers may be exempt from BIS registration if they can document it. Keep a weight register.

How much does hallmarking cost, and can I do it myself?

The BIS FAQ lists ₹45 per gold article, with a minimum of ₹200 per consignment, plus taxes. Only BIS-registered jewellers can approach a hallmarking centre, so job workers route pieces through the jeweller they work for.