About Potdar Jewellers

Potdar Jewellers

The Brahmin’s of Wai, the Potdars, were the jewellers and treasurers to the Peshwas, the dynasty that ruled the southern Indian peninsula in the 17th,18th and 19th century. The Potdars moved to Belgaum in the 19th Century, and have been an integral part of the jewellery business since. They are one of the oldest jewellers in South India, established in the year 1890. They have been providing the residents of Belgaum and nearby cities with exquisite, and unique, traditional ornaments and also world class modern jewellery albeit maintaining the exclusivity.

The Potdars hail from a family of landlords. The lands in and around Belgaum were rented to them by the Peshwas in the late 19th and early 20th century. The head of the family was Tammaji and Balaji Potdar who was also a practicing advocate and a well respected statesman. The family began to broaden their business base. They branched out into entertainment (Cinema houses), retailing textiles, pharmaceuticals, Petroleum  products, marketing of consumer products etc.

Another family member Hanmantrao Balaji Potdar, who was also a teacher by profession, stepped into Sarafi (Jewellery) business in 1890. The business was taken over by the next generation particularly, his younger cousins Venktesh Tammaji Potdar,  Gundu Tammaji Potdar and Shyamrao Potdar, after the partition of the family business.

The USP of Potdar Jewellers is that they have over 150-200 artisans who are well trained in the traditional as well as modern methods of jewellery making. The shop floors are manned by 60-80 well trained staff, who make sure no customer is left unattended. They do not charge any wastage for jewellery made by them. Also, their resale value for particular ornaments like Patli, Bangles, Haras (Necklaces) is the best in the industry.They provide 96% to 100% resale value on ornaments purchased from or made by them. They are also known for working with 23K and 24K gold.

Potdar Jewellers have a large clientale, many of them spread out all over the world. Mementos manufactured by Potdar Jewellers have been presented to the President of India at Belgaum, the Prime Minister of India at Mysore, and many Union ministers at Bengaluru, Chief of Defense staff at Mumbai and North and North East India.

Potdar Jewellers is the only firm to have won a gold medal from Indian Trade board in this area. They also boast of being the third generation of authorized valuers to the government of India. They are the blend of southern and northern jewellery. They are the only platinum dealer in the area recognised by Platinum Guild International, London.

The hard work, experience and tremendous goodwill generated by the earlier generation, has helped the present generation to cash in on these assets to build up the real assets of the firm. Today, the firm enjoys the trust and faith of the public in the whole of North Karnataka, South Maharashtra and Goa and has the distinct reputation of being the oldest, biggest and most renowned firm in the region.

With the Fifth generation of the Potdars has come the modern era in jewellery business, with their world class store at Khade Bazaar. The Six partners, some of them well trained by Gemological Institute of America (GIA), have revolutionized the jewellery trade in Belgaum.

It is no small feat to run a business for more than a century and the Potdar Jewellers have done just that, albeit while maintaining the traditional values and designs. As the latest generation begin to take over the reins of the family business, a new era in the Potdar Jewellers history is all set to be written. The Legacy Continues…