Audit a Rajkot jewellery workshop by visiting it on a working day and following one product from raw metal to the packed piece. You are checking three things: which steps the workshop really does itself, whether it has the capacity for your order, and whether its materials and plating can pass the rules in your market.
Many units in Rajkot do only part of the work and send pieces out for casting, plating or stone setting. That is normal, but you need to know who does what before you place an order.
Before the visit
- Check the company's GST registration and Import Export Code (IEC), and that the names match the bank account it wants paid.
- Ask for the address of the workshop itself, not a showroom or an office in the market.
- Ask which processes are done in-house and which are outsourced, and to whom.
- Request any test reports the workshop already holds for nickel, lead or cadmium.
On the floor
- Die-making, casting or stamping: look for machines that are running and moulds stored on site.
- Plating: an in-house plating line with labelled tanks is a good sign. If plating is outsourced, ask to visit that unit as well.
- Stone setting and assembly: count the workers and check whether setting is done with prongs, bezels or glue.
- Quality control: look for a final checking table, rejected pieces set aside and a written check sheet.
- Storage and packing: check that finished goods are kept dry and packed in anti-tarnish bags, not left open.
Capacity and records
Ask how many pieces a day the workshop makes of a design similar to yours, and how many other orders are running now. Compare the answer with the number of workers and machines you saw.
Ask to see a past order file: the sample record, the inspection notes and the dispatch documents. A workshop that keeps these records usually keeps its quality more consistent too.
Materials and compliance
Ask what base metal is used, where it is bought and whether lead-free solder and nickel-free plating are available. If you sell in the EU or the US, pull a few pieces at random during the visit and send them to an accredited laboratory. Results from samples you picked yourself are worth far more than reports the workshop has prepared.
What this means for a buyer
A short visit tells you more than any catalogue. Creston & Co works for buyers only, for a fixed fee agreed in writing: we visit the workshops you are considering, check plating and finish on the line, have samples tested at NABL-accredited labs and report back in writing. Ask for a free sourcing review.