S ASHOKKUMAR
ashokkumar@herald-goa-com
CANACONA: Gold is available in 22 carats at the Canacona market, but beware because the gold ornaments that you purchase is spurious and mixed with other alloys. This came to light when a bank manager, while speaking to Herald, said that many persons come to the bank to pawn gold, and upon scrutiny, they find that it is 30 percent copper and other alloy, while they sanction the loan as per the total gold content in the ornaments.
Speaking further, the manager said that the mortgager confronts the goldsmith, who denies the charges, and since they do not put a seal on the ornaments, like leading branded gold merchants, pertaining to the authenticity of the maker.
Some years ago, a leading co-operative bank of Goa was swindled by gold mortgagers, and when the latter failed to collect the mortgaged ornaments, the bank put it up for auction only to realize that the ornaments that were mortgaged were of spurious quality and not up to the standards that the swindlers had disclosed. The chapter was closed as ‘Bad Debt, because the person at the helm of affairs was a strong politician and ex-minister of Goa.
With the cost of gold sky-rocketing every day, sources revealed that many goldsmiths in South Goa, especially in the Canacona municipal area, have taken to adulterating the precious metal with copper and other metals to make quick money by hoodwinking unsuspecting buyers.
Shamrao Vernekar (name changed), a traditional goldsmith from Chaudi, informed that 98 percent of goldsmiths, who are mostly young, are out to make fast money with a metal concoction that resembles like gold.
Another goldsmith from Palolem, who spoke on condition of anonymity, informed that the adulteration is done as per the status of buyers, i.e. if the buyer is from a financially higher class, the adulteration of gold with copper or other metals is only 10 percent, but if the buyer is from the middle class, adulteration is 15 percent, and adulteration for the backward community customers is easily above 25 to 30 percent.
Interestingly, the goldsmith informed that if a purchaser buys gold on credit, the adulteration is between 30 and 50 percent.
Most of the victims are family members or relatives of an engaged couple. Those from lower classes purchase gold in installments, and here too the goldsmith charges them interest that is higher than the market price.
On the other hand, the same goldsmiths, while purchasing used gold, cry about the mixtures by other goldsmiths, and even the gold resold by them invites little value, said housewife Hemlata Gaonkar from Bhatpal.
In an interesting development on Sunday, a young goldsmith at the Chaudi main bazaar was goaded by a customer to return her money after she noticed that her gold purchases over a month back turned black at many places due to heavy adulteration. After initially refusing, the goldsmith started to demand the receipt issued by him, and finally, after public pressure, he agreed to refund the money, but after 15 days.
The main problem with the goldsmiths and the purchasers in Canacona is that no goldsmith issues a proper receipt for a sale; they usually give an unrealistic piece of paper containing scribbling and without a signature or stamp. The worst thing is that no purchaser demands a receipt, feeling that gold itself is of more importance than a paper receipt, informed Rajesh Gaonkar, former Sarpanch of Cotigao.
In Goa, it was also known that no goldsmith (karigar workshops) used a purity-checking machine (carat meter), informed goldsmith Santosh Vernekar, and it was also learnt that a goldsmith from Margao had tried to buy this machine, but goldsmiths gheraoed and stopped him from buying the same so that adulterations could continue unabated.
What makes the adulteration even more successful is that the yellow metal does not turn to the colour of mixed copper, which is added to the gold during the jewellery-making process to harden the soft, malleable yellow metal.
Sources said, “Most machine-made jewellery contains adulterants of iridium. And overnight, these manufacturers (Karagir) hit the jackpot,” said another Karagir from Poinguinim. Manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers across Goa are aware of how rampant this notorious practice is.
The XRF machines, which are used to test the purity of gold, are not used in Canacona so far, as per the source.
Consumers are the biggest losers as they suffer the most when the time comes to resell the gold.
The common man, during weddings and other ceremonies, does not think about the quality of gold. They only think about how long the goldsmith will give them credit. That is also a reason for adulteration in Canacona, said Shevtu S Pagi.
Another goldsmith said if a buyer wanted correct the purity, he had to buy hallmarked gold. Adulteration has imposed another burden on the common man, and the government should take strict action against this practice, is the opinion of the general public.
