Buyers routinely ask "what is your MOQ?" and receive a single number that then fails to hold when they specify what they actually want. That is because MOQ is calculated, not decreed.

The four MOQ layers

Layer	Typical range	Why it exists
Stock design, stock specification	10–20 pcs	No new tooling; picked from existing production
Stock design, new metal or stone	20–50 pcs	Alloy change, plating batch, stone sourcing
New design from your reference	30–100 pcs	CAD, mould, sample, approval cycle
Fully bespoke with new mould and packaging	100–300 pcs	Dedicated tooling and printing setup

What actually drives the number up

New moulds — a fixed cost that must be amortised across the order.
Metal changes — a plating or alloy batch is run per order.
Non-standard stone sizes — calibrated parcels must be cut and sorted.
Custom packaging — printing runs have their own minimums.
Certification — grading is charged per stone and has its own batch economics.

How to lower your effective MOQ

You cannot remove a fixed cost, but you can spread it. Three practical tactics:

Mix designs within one material batch. 20 pcs across four designs in the same metal often beats 20 pcs of one design.
Accept a stock specification for the first order and customise on the reorder, once volume is proven.
Commit to a scheduled annual volume rather than a single large order — a written forecast lets us reserve capacity and reduce the per-order minimum.

What a fair MOQ conversation sounds like

Instead of "can you lower the MOQ", ask "what would the MOQ be if I accept your stock metal and stone specification?" or "what annual volume would justify a dedicated mould?" Both questions identify the fixed cost and let both sides solve it.

Our standard terms

Stock designs: 20 pcs per design, mixed-design lots from 50 pcs. Custom designs: 30 pcs per style for silver, 10 pcs for 14K and 18K gold lines. Trial orders below these levels are accepted at list price with a small setup charge, which is credited against your first volume order.

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.

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.