In a gold programme, the stone is often the smaller cost. Metal weight, karat and fabrication determine both your price and your exposure to gold price movement.

Karat comparison for wholesale planning

Karat	Gold content	Commercial position
10K	41.7%	Durability-led markets; lowest metal cost
14K	58.3%	The mainstream balance in the US and much of Asia
18K	75.0%	Premium and bridal; richer colour, softer metal
22K	91.6%	Specific cultural markets; specialist production

Higher karat is not automatically better commercially. 18K is softer and more prone to scratching in everyday rings, while 10K resists wear better at a lower cost. Match the karat to how the piece will be worn, not only to how it will be marketed.

Metal weight is the cost lever

Gold is priced by weight, so a design's gram weight is the dominant variable in its cost. Two controls keep it predictable:

Specify target gram weight with a tolerance — typically ±5% — on the approval sheet, and verify on receipt with a scale.
Control hollow versus solid construction deliberately. Hollow construction saves metal but reduces perceived quality and repair options; it is appropriate for earrings and pendants, rarely for rings.

Hallmarking and quality marks

Most markets require a fineness mark on precious metal jewellery, and several require an assay office hallmark — the UK is the strictest, with mandatory assay for gold above one gram. Plan hallmarking into the production schedule: it is a finishing step that adds days, and doing it after shipment is often impossible.

Managing gold price exposure

Quote in a way that separates metal value from making charges, so a gold price move can be handled without renegotiating the whole order.
Agree a validity window on gold pricing — commonly 7 to 14 days.
Where possible, fix the metal weight rather than the total price, so design changes do not silently change your cost base.
For long programmes, discuss whether the factory can hold metal stock for your account.

Specification summary for a first gold order

Choose 14K for a mainstream line, specify target gram weight with tolerance, require hallmarking appropriate to your market, and request an X-ray fluorescence composition check on a sample. Those four requirements prevent the majority of gold-order disputes.

Next step

If you want a factory quotation rather than a retail estimate, send us your stone list, target quantities and market. Our trade desk replies within 12 working hours with tiered pricing, lead times and shipping options, and you can browse the wholesale collection or OEM/ODM service in the meantime.

What to put in your purchase specification

Before you place a wholesale order, write the specification down and make the factory confirm it in writing. Every dispute we see between a buyer and a supplier traces back to a vague or missing specification sheet. The following items are the ones that actually cause problems when they are left open:

Item	What to state
Stone grade	Colour and clarity range, plus the tolerance you will accept against the approved master sample (±1 grade is standard)
Metal and purity	Exact karat or silver fineness, alloy type, and whether white gold is nickel-free
Plating	Type (rhodium, 18K gold) and thickness in microns — a thin flash plating wears through in months
Dimensions	Band width, stone measurement, chain length, and the weight tolerance per piece
Setting method	Prong, bezel, channel or pavé — this single choice can double labour cost
Packing	Poly bag, box, pouch, tag, barcode label, and how many pieces per carton
Documents	Which certificates, and whether you need a material declaration or assay report

MOQ, lead time and payment terms

Our standard terms across the catalogue are straightforward, and they are the same terms we quote in writing rather than adjusting per enquiry:

MOQ — 10 pieces per design for stock specifications, 50 pieces for mixed-design lots. Custom development starts from 30 pieces per style in 925 silver and 10 pieces in gold.
Tiered pricing — list price to 49 pieces, about 8% off from 50 pieces, about 14% off from 200 pieces, and negotiated pricing above 500 pieces with reserved production capacity.
Lead time — 7–15 days for stock designs, 10–20 days for custom or certified production runs. Add 3–7 days for express transit to Europe and North America.
Payment — 30% deposit with the balance before shipment, by T/T, PayPal, Western Union or Alibaba Trade Assurance.
Samples — single samples ship at list price and the cost is credited against your first order above 200 pieces.
Quality guarantee — 30-day return window on stock items, and a written remanufacture-or-credit commitment if a parcel falls outside the approved tolerances.

Quality control: what happens before your parcel leaves

Buyers who have been burned before usually want to know exactly what inspection was performed. This is our standard sequence on every wholesale order, whether it is 20 pieces or 2,000:

Incoming stone grading. Every parcel is checked for colour, clarity and measurement against the order sheet before it enters the setting line. Rejected stones are pulled, not downgraded and used anyway.
In-process inspection. Setters check prong security, stone alignment and surface finish at each station rather than at the end of the line.
Final QC under 10× magnification. Polish, plating thickness, clasp and hinge function, and hallmark accuracy are verified piece by piece.
Cleaning, photographing, packing. Pieces are cleaned, photographed against your PO number, and packed in individual poly bags inside export cartons.
Document preparation. Commercial invoice, packing list, certificate copies and — where required — a material declaration stating that the stones are laboratory-grown.

You receive the photographs and the packing list before the parcel ships, so you can flag anything before it leaves rather than after it arrives.

Frequently asked questions

Can I mix metals and stone grades in one order?

Yes. You can combine 925 sterling silver, 10K, 14K and 18K gold in the same production run, and specify different colour and clarity grades per line. Every combination is confirmed on a single approval sheet before production starts, so there is no ambiguity about which line is which.

How consistent is grading across repeat orders?

Repeat orders are graded against the master sample kept on file under your account, which is why buyers who reorder regularly see far less variation than buyers who switch suppliers each season. Tolerances are written into the approval sheet, so a reorder cannot drift without your written agreement.

Do you provide photography for my online store?

Every catalogued design has front, three-quarter and macro imagery in sRGB at print resolution, named to match the SKU so the assets map straight into your product database. For orders above 200 pieces we photograph your private-label version at no additional cost.

What happens if the goods do not match the sample?

Send photographs and the SKU list within 14 days of delivery. If the deviation exceeds the tolerances on your approval sheet, we remake the affected pieces or issue a credit — this is covered by our written quality guarantee and applies to every order, not only the first one.

Related wholesale collections

10K/14K/18K Gold Jewelry Manufacturer — 10 ready designs, MOQ from 10 pcs.
18K Gold Jewelry — 29 ready designs, MOQ from 10 pcs.
14K Gold Jewelry — 1 ready designs, MOQ from 10 pcs.
Rings — 273 ready designs, MOQ from 10 pcs.

The Custom Jewelry OEM Process: From Sketch to Mass Production

Authoritative References

For buyers who need to verify the technical and regulatory basis of this guide, the following independent institutions publish authoritative reference data:

ISO 9001 Quality Management - the international standard for consistent production quality.
Wikipedia: Jewellery - manufacturing processes, materials and global trade background.