A supplier quotes USD 4.20 FOB for a sterling ring. Your retail instinct says "that means USD 12.99 in the shop" — and you just left 35% of margin on the table, or worse, priced yourself out of the channel. Wholesale jewelry pricing is not a multiplier off factory price. It is a stack of five costs, two break-evens and one target margin, done in that order.

The landed-cost stack first

Start from FOB unit price and add, per piece:

International freight — sea freight amortised per piece typically USD 0.15-0.40; air freight USD 0.80-2.00 for small parcels.
Duty — use the correct heading from HS codes for silver jewelry; sterling 925 commonly runs 5-11% into the US, imitation jewelry under 7117 often much lower.
Compliance and testing amortised — EN 1811 or 16 CFR 23 compliance paperwork, third-party QC, roughly USD 0.30-0.80 per piece on a 500-piece run.
Packaging and tags — see private-label packaging basics; branded tags and pouches add USD 0.40-1.50 per unit.
Payment and currency cost — TT, escrow or LC fees, plus FX movement buffer of 2-3%.

Sum these and you have landed cost per piece (LCP). A ring at USD 4.20 FOB realistically lands at USD 5.40-6.10, not USD 4.20. Every retail pricing decision starts from LCP, never from FOB.

The margin formula that survives markdowns

Two numbers matter: gross margin and sell-through. The target wholesale-to-retail formula used by healthy independent retailers:

Retail price = LCP / (1 − target gross margin − markdown reserve)

With LCP of USD 5.70, target gross margin of 60%, and a markdown reserve of 15% (end-of-season clearance, damaged stock, returns): retail = 5.70 / (1 − 0.60 − 0.15) = 5.70 / 0.25 = USD 22.80. The classic "keystone doubling" (USD 11.40) gives you 50% gross margin with no markdown reserve — a formula that breaks in any season with a 20% clearance event.

Channel-specific price bands

Amazon and marketplaces run 35-45% gross margins after referral fees and FBA, so LCP must be under 40% of retail; boutiques and brand DTC run 55-65%; trade fairs and pop-ups run 50-55%. Buy the same ring differently per channel: buy cheaper-bulk for marketplace volume, buy tooled private label for boutique margin. Whatever the channel, karat and stone claims must match FTC 16 CFR Part 23 disclosure rules — a mis-stamped "925" tag invalidates the whole price ladder and can trigger FTC action.

Worked example: one ring, three channels

Take a sterling ring with LCP of USD 5.70. On a marketplace at a retail of USD 14.99, gross margin after 15% referral and FBA comes out around 32-36% — workable only if LCP drops below USD 4.50, which means a 500-piece bulk buy, not a private-label pilot. In a boutique at USD 22.80, margin is 60% and the same LCP supports tags, pouch and a rigid box from packaging basics. At a pop-up at USD 29.00, margin is 70% but volume is one weekend — buy 80 pieces, not 300. The lesson: the formula is not a single price, it is a menu of channel-specific LCP bands, and your purchase order should match the band, not the other way around.

Test before you scale

Run the formula on a 50-piece pilot, then watch the first 90 days: sell-through percentage, average discount actually given, return rate. If sell-through is under 55% at the formula price, the unit cost, not the price, is wrong — renegotiate MOQ and tooling with MOQ leverage rather than discounting. For what to buy next, align pilots with the 2026 stocking trends so the formula is applied to styles retail customers already want.

One final discipline: re-run the formula every quarter, not every launch. Freight rates move 10-20%, duty headings get revised, and plating prices drift with silver and copper. A price set in January that held 60% margin in March can hold 52% in June. Keep a one-page landed-cost card per SKU, update it on each reorder, and let the retail price follow the card — not the other way around.

FAQ

What gross margin should a jewelry retailer target?

55-65% gross margin at retail, on top of a 10-15% markdown reserve. Marketplaces run lower (35-45%) after fees; private-label boutique can run 65%+.

Should we price off FOB or landed cost?

Always landed cost. FOB pricing ignores duty, freight, QC, packaging and payment fees — typically 25-45% of FOB on sterling lines.

How do we budget for clearance?

Reserve 12-18% of LCP-based margin. If your sell-through underperforms at the formula price, renegotiate unit cost or reduce reorder MOQ — do not cut retail price into the reserve.

Does the formula change for moissanite lines?

Same formula, but certificate cost enters LCP: GRA adds USD 0.30-1.00 per piece amortised; IGI adds USD 25-60 per stone. Recalculate per stone line before committing a price point.

HOLYCOME quotes FOB prices with a transparent landed-cost worksheet: duty basis, freight amortisation, QC and packaging per SKU. Ask for the worksheet with your price list — you will see exactly where margin lives.