Karigar Hisab-Kitab: How to Eliminate Pure Gold Leakage in Jewellery Workshop Jobwork

In the jewellery business, profits are made at the counter, but easily lost in the workshop. Unrecorded gold shrinkage, ambiguous melting losses, and disputed artisan wastage (ghat) cost average Indian showrooms several lakhs every year.

To stop gold leakage, professional Sarafas use a mathematical invariant called the Pure Gold Custody Balance.

The Pure Gold Equation

Never track Karigar work by gross ornament weight alone. Since gold purity changes when alloy, kadi, solder, or enameling is added, all transactions must be converted to 24K Pure Gold (Fine Gold / Kacha Sona) in milligrams.

A Real Workshop Example

Suppose you issue 50.000 grams of 24K pure granules (999 purity) to an artisan (Ramesh Goldsmith) to manufacture two 22K (916) bridal necklaces.

1. Metal Issued: 50.000g × 99.9% = 49.950g Pure Gold.
2. Finished Ornaments Received: 48.200g gross of 22K916 jewellery. Pure gold content = 48.200 × (22 / 24) = 44.183g Pure Gold.
3. Scrap Returned (Chhilai / Katan): 4.500g of 22K melting scrap. Pure gold content = 4.500 × (22 / 24) = 4.125g Pure Gold.
4. Agreed Wastage (Ghat at 1.5%): 48.200g × 1.5% = 0.723g gross equivalent = 0.663g Pure Gold.

In traditional paper registers, this 0.979g pure gold shortfall is forgotten. Over a month across 5 Karigars, this represents 15 to 25 grams of unrecovered gold (₹1.5 to ₹2.5 Lakhs lost).

In TolaBook, every Karigar has a running pure gold balance ledger. The software tracks both metal custody (milligrams) and labor payable (cash rupees) separately, ensuring zero gold leakage.