Urgent Need To Upgrade Hupari Silversmiths

Hupari, a small town nestled in the Kolhapur district of Maharashtra, India, is home to nearly 25,000 silver artisans. Jewellery blogger and designer PRERNAA MAKHARIAA narrates her experience of a recent excursion to Hupari as part of the Women’s Jewellery Association (WJA) India.

- Prernaa Makhariaa

WJA India along with the Gem & Jewellery Skill Council of India (GJSCI) sent a small team of designers and jewellery manufacturers to Hupari, a small town near Kolhapur, Maharashtra, which is renowned for its silver jewellery ornaments. It has been the endeavour of WJA and GJSCI to identify pockets in India where artisans still practise age-old crafts. It is important to understand how to amalgamate the work of these artisans into contemporary jewellery. This will not only keep their skills alive, but the symbiotic relationship will also help them upgrade their technological acumen to produce pieces of finer quality. The benefits of such tie-ups can be exponential.

It would not be wrong to say that nearly half the population of Hupari (it is estimated that 65,000 villagers live there) is engaged in making handcrafted silver jewellery, especially anklets (payals).

Manufacturing process

The two-day tour was an eye-opener for us. We watched the entire process, from the processing of raw material to the finished product. Although some of the methods were rudimentary, they have been time tested and have helped artisans to sustain and maintain their jewellery and article output.

Silver inbound and purity testing – Raw silver bars, sheets or jewellery are given to the karigar by his client. He tests the purity with various chemicals and keeps an account of it.

Silver refining – Once the accounting is done, that same raw silver is put in a furnace of approximately 3,000°C temperature. Certain alloys are added to achieve the desired purity.