With the trend of nose-piercing gaining popularity, production of gold nose pins has increased by 30 per cent to 67.60 lakh pieces a month this year in Amritsar, the biggest manufacturing centre for this traditional jewellery item.

Nose pins are seen as a sign of beauty. Also, it is mandatory for married women in some societies to wear nose pins. Of late, gold nose pins have become a fashion symbol.

“The demand for nose pins has been rising and production has also gone up in Amritsar. We are manufacturing 67.60 lakh pieces of gold nose pins every month this year, as against 52 lakh pieces in a month in the last calendar year,” Amritsar Sarafa Association President Vinay Jain told PTI.

There has been strong demand for this jewellery item from Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana and West Bengal this year, he said.

Nose pins of all varieties are made in Amritsar. State-specific traditional designs are also manufactured, he added.

The demand has been rising on account of nose piercing gaining popularity among the young generation. “Also, there is a tradition in some states that women discard their nose pins every month. So, the demand is high,” he said.

Machines are employed for making nose pins. Over 40,000 workers are involved in the manufacturing of this jewellery item, Jain said.