Custom Manufacturing
Packaging and Private Label for Jewelry Wholesale Buyers
How to specify boxes, pouches, tags and certificates that survive shipping, satisfy retail expectations and carry your brand without adding more cost than the piece margin can absorb.
Packaging is the cheapest part of a jewellery programme and the most visible to the end customer. It is also where wholesale orders most often arrive damaged.
Packaging by channel
| Channel | Minimum viable packaging | Upgrade that pays |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace / e-commerce | Anti-tarnish pouch, branded card | Rigid box for gift SKUs |
| Independent retail | Branded box, care card | Printed outer sleeve |
| Bridal retail | Rigid box, certificate wallet | Led light box, presentation tray |
| Wholesale bulk | Poly bag per piece, inner box, carton | Size-labelled compartments |
Specifications that prevent transit damage
- Anti-tarnish protection for silver: treated paper or bags, plus desiccant in the inner carton.
- Individual protection for every piece — stones chip when pieces touch each other in transit.
- Inner box rigidity sufficient to survive a stack of cartons, not just handling.
- Sealed outer carton with the PO number visible on the outside for customs and receiving.
- Weight declared per carton on the packing list.
Private label elements and their cost behaviour
- Logo printing on boxes. Carries a one-off set-up cost, then a low per-unit cost. Best value of any private-label element.
- Engraved tags or cards. Cheap, and they carry your brand into the customer's hands after the sale.
- Certificate wallets. Small cost, disproportionate perceived value in bridal.
- Laser engraving on the jewellery itself. Priced per piece; specify position and depth so the hallmark remains legible.
- Custom box tooling. Only worth it above a few thousand units.
Practical sequencing
On a first order, keep packaging generic but protected: poly bag per piece, plain rigid box, your branded card. Add logo-printed boxes on the second order once you know which designs repeat. Commission custom box tooling only when a design family has proven itself for two seasons.
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
- Custom Jewelry Manufacturer — 129 ready designs, MOQ from 10 pcs.
Related Articles
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.
