On this page
Every commercial figure below is taken from the page that publishes it, so the number here and the number there are the same number. Prices on this site are indicative ex-works planning ranges, not quotations.
Procurement glossary
Jewellery sourcing terms, defined for the buyer
The words that decide your unit price, your returns rate and whether a shipment clears customs. Defined plainly, with what each one means for you, and linked to the page that shows it in practice.
Nail down five things before anything else, because they set the price and the returns rate: the material or alloy (925 sterling silver, 316L stainless steel, or a brass or copper base); the plating method and its thickness in microns; the minimum order quantity per design; the lead time measured from written sample approval; and the compliance test your market requires, such as EN 1811 nickel release. Every other term on this page is a detail of those five. Get all five into writing on the quotation.
Section 01
Materials and alloys
The words that decide what a piece is made of, and therefore what it weighs, what it costs and what it does on skin. Trade names matter far less than the chemistry behind them.
| Term | What it means | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 925 Sterling Silver | A silver alloy of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper by weight. The 925 figure is the silver content; the copper is what gives the alloy the hardness it needs to hold a shape. | Silver has a public market price, so the metal line of a quotation moves with the market and we publish the weight of every design — see 925 sterling silver jewellery. |
| 316L Stainless Steel | A surgical-grade stainless steel carrying 2–3% molybdenum, 10–14% nickel and low carbon. The “L” is the low-carbon designation, which keeps the alloy stable through the heat of casting and polishing. | It does not tarnish and does not mark skin, which is why it is the default for waterproof and everyday-wear lines — see 316L stainless steel jewellery. |
| 304 vs 316L Stainless Steel | Both are stainless steels of the same family, but 304 contains no molybdenum while 316L carries 2–3%. Molybdenum is the part that resists salt water and sweat, and it is the reason 316L does not pit the way 304 does. | The two look identical on a shelf, so specify 316L in writing and ask for the molybdenum test or the material test report — the difference is chemical, not visible. |
| Brass | An alloy of copper and zinc. It casts fine detail well and is heavier than steel for the same volume, so a brass piece feels more substantial in the hand. | It is the entry price tier and the trend line, and its working life is decided by the plating rather than by the metal — see brass and copper jewellery. |
| Copper | A soft, ductile metal used as a base in its own right, and present as the copper phase in brass and in the 7.5% of 925 silver. | Unplated copper can leave a faint green trace on skin, so every surface that touches skin should stay plated or carry a clear top coat — see the material comparison. |
| Base Metal | The structural metal a piece is made from before any plating — on this site brass, copper or 316L steel. It carries the weight, the shape and the feel of the piece. | On a plated item the base metal and the plating are quoted as separate lines, so a comparison between two suppliers is only meaningful when both of them name the base. |
| Gold-Filled | A base metal with a layer of gold bonded to it by heat and pressure, so the gold is metallurgically attached rather than electrically deposited. The layer is far thicker than gold plating. | It outlasts plating and costs more. The figure that matters is the gold content or the layer thickness, so put it in writing on the purchase order rather than accepting the word. |
| Gold-Plated | A base metal with gold deposited onto it electrically, in a layer measured in microns. The word on its own states no thickness at all. | Durability is set by the micron figure, not by the word “gold”, so ask for the thickness on every line of the quotation — see the plating guide. |
| Rhodium | A bright white precious metal applied as a very thin plating. On silver it is the standard anti-tarnish finish, and it is also used over stone settings to protect the seats. | A rhodium flash protects the surface and the stone seats at the same time, which is why pavé pieces are usually rhodium plated — see silver rings. |
| Nickel | A metal present in many alloys and plating chemistries, and the most common cause of jewellery skin reactions. In an alloy it is bound into the metal rather than sitting loose on the surface. | Regulated markets test nickel release from the finished surface rather than nickel content, so the document to ask for is EN 1811 — see the plating guide. |
| Lead | A heavy metal restricted in jewellery and in children’s products by several national regulations. It is a content limit, tested on the material rather than on the finished surface. | If your market restricts lead, the document to request is the material test report for the exact batch you receive, not a general statement — see the material comparison. |
| Cadmium | A metal that can appear in solders and in some plating chemistries, and is restricted in jewellery in several markets. Like lead, it is a content limit rather than a release limit. | It is checked on the material test report rather than by a surface test, so it is worth asking for the report on the metal you are actually buying — see the material comparison. |
Section 02
Plating and finishes
Two pieces that ship looking identical can behave completely differently six months later. This is the vocabulary that decides which one you are selling.
| Term | What it means | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) | A coating process in which the coating metal is vaporised in a vacuum and deposited onto the piece, bonding at a molecular level. The layer is thinner than a plated one but considerably harder. | It is the most abrasion-resistant finish we quote, and the default for 316L sold as everyday wear — see 316L stainless steel jewellery. |
| Ion Plating | A high-energy form of PVD, used when a saturated colour is needed — jet black, rainbow, deep navy — rather than a metal tone. | It is the process behind colour-plated steel lines, and it needs a well-prepared base to bond, so the surface preparation is part of what you are buying. |
| Electroplating | The piece is dipped in a chemical bath and an electric current deposits the coating metal onto it. Thickness is built up in the bath, so several microns are achievable. | Cheaper and capable of a deeper colour than PVD, but the coating is softer and more prone to lifting at sharp edges — which is exactly where a ring or a clasp wears first. |
| Micron (µm) | One thousandth of a millimetre. Plating thickness is quoted in microns, and it is the number that predicts how long a plated piece survives. | Our plating lines are quoted at 0.5–3 µm depending on the piece and the lifespan you want, and the figure appears per item on the quotation — see the plating guide. |
| Flash Plating | A very thin decorative coating, applied for colour rather than for durability. | It is the right answer for a one-season trend piece and the wrong one for anything sold as everyday wear — tell us the lifespan you are promising and we will quote the thickness that supports it. |
| Heavy Gold Plating | A thicker-than-decorative gold deposit, built up in an electrolytic bath. “Heavy” has no fixed value across the trade, so it describes an intention rather than a specification. | If the phrase appears on a quotation without a micron figure, ask for the number — otherwise you are comparing two suppliers on a word. |
| E-Coat (Anti-Tarnish Coat) | A clear lacquer applied over the finished surface to slow tarnish and surface wear. On silver it keeps the raw silver colour, unlike a rhodium flash. | It extends the working life of silver and of plated brass at the cost of some depth of colour, and it is quoted as its own line so the decision stays yours — see the plating guide. |
| Satin / Brushed | A directional abrasive finish: satin is the finer version, brushed the coarser. Both scatter light across the surface instead of reflecting it. | A brushed surface hides the fine scratches of everyday wear better than a mirror polish, which makes it the safer finish on a piece sold as daily wear — see steel bracelets. |
| Oxidised | A deliberately darkened silver surface, produced by controlled sulphur exposure. The colour settles in the recesses, which is what makes engraved or textured detail readable. | It is an intentional finish rather than tarnish, and abrasive dips and polishing cloths remove it — so the care instructions you pass to the customer have to say so. See silver charms. |
Section 03
Sizing and findings
Rings and bangles fail on fit; necklaces and earrings fail on the finding. Both are settled before production, and neither is fixed by a better photograph.
| Term | What it means | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Ring Size (US, EU, UK) | The same finger described by different standards: US numeric, EU/ISO 8653 diameter in millimetres, and UK alphabetical. The Chinese and Japanese numberings are a fourth way of saying the same thing. | Order in the standard your customer already reads, and have every size confirmed against a gauge on the approved drawing — see silver rings. |
| Inner Diameter | The inside measurement of a ring or a rigid bangle, in millimetres. For a bangle it is the number that has to clear the knuckles, not the wrist. | Specifying a bangle by diameter rather than by “standard” is what prevents a fit complaint, and a single diameter covers a narrower range of customers than an adjustable build — see steel bracelets and bangles. |
| Band Width | The width of a ring band in millimetres, measured across the face of the ring. It is where the metal of a ring goes. | In silver a 6 mm band carries roughly three times the metal of a 2 mm band on the same finger, so the two widths are quoted as separate builds — see silver rings. |
| Chain Length | The end-to-end length of a necklace or bracelet chain, measured including the clasp, normally quoted in centimetres with the inch equivalent alongside. | Length changes the metal content, so a long chain is not a free variation of a short one; 45 cm is the safest single stock length in most markets — see silver necklaces. |
| Extension Chain | A short adjustable length, usually 2–5 cm, added at the clasp so that one chain fits a wider range of neck sizes. It can carry a small tag with your own mark. | It is the cheapest way to make one length fit more customers, and it is quoted as its own line because the tag is a separate stamping and engraving step. |
| Lobster Clasp | An oval clasp with a spring-loaded gate released by a small lever. It is the most common closure on better fashion jewellery. | It is our default because it is the most reliable closure per unit of cost, and clasps are cycled open and closed on the runs we build — see steel necklaces. |
| Spring Ring Clasp | A circular clasp whose spring gate is pulled back by a small lever. It is lighter and cheaper than a lobster clasp. | It suits light chains and lower price points. We would not put it on a piece sold as everyday wear, because the spring is the part that gives way first. |
| Magnetic Clasp | Two magnets, one on each end of a piece, that hold it closed without a mechanical gate. | It is easy to fasten, which sells, but it fails more often than a mechanical clasp, so we do not recommend it for everyday-wear lines — see brass necklaces. |
| Jump Ring | A small open wire ring used to attach a pendant or a charm. It carries the entire load of the piece. | A thin, unsoldered jump ring opens under a heavy charm and the customer loses the piece, so the ring gauge should be specified against the charm weight — see silver charms. |
| Post and Butterfly | The straight pin that passes through the ear and the friction back that holds it — the standard finding on studs and small earrings. | It is the cheapest and the most familiar finding, and it is the part that touches the ear, so on a plated piece specify a 316L post — see silver earrings. |
| Huggie | A close-fitting hoop with a hinged closure that sits against the earlobe. The hinge is the mechanism, so the closure is part of the design rather than an afterthought. | Specify the hinge, not only the front: a huggie that will not stay closed comes back regardless of how good it looks — see steel earrings. |
| Lever-Back | An earring finding with a hinged lever that closes across the post and behind the ear. | It is the most secure option we make, which is why it is specified for drop earrings and for anything a customer cannot afford to lose — see brass earrings. |
| Prong and Bezel Settings | A prong setting holds a stone with small metal claws; a bezel setting encircles it with a continuous rim of metal. Prong shows the most stone, bezel protects the most. | A bezel is the safer choice for a ring or for anything worn daily, because there are no claws to catch on clothing; a prong setting uses less metal and lets more light through — see silver rings. |
| Pavé and Channel Settings | Pavé sets many small stones close together, held by tiny beads of metal; a channel setting seats a row of stones in a groove between two walls; a flush setting sinks a stone level with the metal. All three leave little metal visible. | Labour per stone is higher than on a single prong setting, and a channel-set band is difficult to resize, so the size run has to be decided before the stones go in — see silver bracelets. |
Section 04
Sourcing and manufacturing
The commercial vocabulary. These are the terms that move your unit price, your cash and your delivery date — and the ones worth writing into the purchase order rather than agreeing by email.
| Term | What it means | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) | The smallest number of pieces a supplier will accept on one line. On a stock line it is stated per design; on a made-to-order line it follows from the tooling and the size of the production run. | Stock lines start at 10 pcs per design with dispatch in 3–7 days; made-to-order minimums are published per material — see the MOQ and first-order guide. |
| Per-Design MOQ | A minimum applied to each individual design in an order rather than to the order total. Six designs in one carton means six minimums. | It is why a mixed order costs more than its piece count suggests: our made-to-order minimums are 30 pcs in silver, 50 pcs in steel and 30 pcs in brass, each per design. |
| Stock Program | Designs held on the shelf rather than made to order, so they can ship without tooling and without a production run. | Stock lines dispatch in 3–7 days against the lowest minimum, which is the cheapest way to test a market before committing tooling — see best sellers. |
| OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) | You supply the design and the manufacturer builds it to your specification. In jewellery this normally starts from a sketch, a reference photograph or a teardown sample. | OEM is the route to an exclusive shape, and it carries a one-off tooling cost that reorders do not repeat — see OEM and ODM service. |
| ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) | The supplier holds the design and manufactures it for several buyers. You choose from a catalogue rather than commissioning a new shape. | There is no tooling to pay for and the lead time is shorter, but the design is not exclusive, so the range has to be planned around that — see OEM and ODM service. |
| Private Label | A stock or existing design carrying your own brand mark, packaging and labelling rather than the supplier’s. | It is the fastest route to a branded line because nothing has to be re-drawn; the cost sits in the mark, the packaging and the artwork rather than in the piece — see OEM and ODM service. |
| White Label | A product sold with no branding at all, or with branding you apply yourself after delivery. It is the plainest form of private label. | It is the cheapest way to start, but packaging is still quoted separately, because a box or a pouch is a different line from the piece. |
| CAD (Computer-Aided Design) | The dimensioned drawing of a design, produced from a sketch or a reference and used to agree the shape, the weight and the tolerances before anything is made. | Our CAD drawings follow in 48 hours on custom work, and the weight and dimensions on that drawing are what the quotation is built from — see OEM and ODM service. |
| Wax Model | A physical model of the design, cut or printed from the CAD file, from which the casting mould is made. It is the bridge between the drawing and the metal. | Approving the drawing before the model is made is what stops a wrong shape being cast; the model is a one-off cost, not a per-piece one. |
| Lost-Wax Casting | The model is encased in a mould material, the wax is melted out, and molten metal is poured into the cavity left behind. It is how detailed shapes in silver and in brass are produced. | Casting needs a mould, which is why silver and brass carry a per-design minimum; the mould is a one-off cost and reorders do not repeat it — see brass rings. |
| Sampling | A finished physical piece, made and sent for approval before bulk production. Nothing runs to bulk until the sample has been approved in writing. | Sampling takes 7–15 days depending on material and finish, and it is the cheapest place to find a problem — see the MOQ and first-order guide. |
| Lead Time | The time from written sample approval to a finished order ready to ship. It does not start on the day an enquiry is sent. | Production runs 20–30 days in silver, 15–25 days in steel and 12–20 days in brass, after sample approval; freight sits on top of that — see the MOQ and first-order guide. |
| EXW / FOB | Two Incoterms that decide where a shipment changes hands. EXW means the buyer collects at the works; FOB means the seller delivers to the port of shipment and risk passes at the ship’s rail. | Our published bands are indicative ex-works, so ask which term a quotation is built on before comparing two suppliers — a lower ex-works price can be the more expensive landed one. |
| Gram Weight | The weight of metal in a finished piece, quoted in grams. On silver it is what the metal line of the price is calculated from. | A published weight is what makes a silver quote checkable rather than arguable, and it appears on every design we outline — see the material comparison. |
Section 05
Testing and compliance
Documents, not adjectives. Every test below is arranged to a specification, and the report describes the alloy, the plating and the market it was produced for — not a catalogue.
| Term | What it means | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| EN 1811 | The European standard test for nickel release from items intended to come into prolonged contact with skin. It measures how much nickel leaves the surface, not how much the alloy contains. | The threshold for items in prolonged skin contact is 0.5 µg/cm²/week. Testing can be arranged for the exact styles in scope, and the current report is the document to ask for — see the plating guide. |
| Nickel Release Limit | The maximum rate at which nickel may leave a surface, expressed in micrograms per square centimetre per week. It is a release limit rather than a content limit, which is why a piece made from nickel-bearing steel can still comply. | It is the requirement that decides whether a plated piece can be sold in the EU, which is why EN 1811 belongs in the specification rather than arriving as a surprise after the order. |
| REACH | The EU regulation on the registration, evaluation and restriction of chemicals. For jewellery, the restrictions that matter most concern substances such as nickel, lead and cadmium in articles. | A REACH declaration describes a specification, not a catalogue, so ask for it against the exact alloy and plating you are buying — see the material comparison. |
| RoHS | An EU directive restricting certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. It is not written for jewellery, but many buyers carry the requirement across from their electronics lines. | A RoHS declaration can be arranged to your specification. The same caveat as REACH applies: it describes one specification, and it is quoted separately because the cost depends on the number of styles in scope. |
| CA Prop 65 | California’s Proposition 65 requires a warning where a product exposes the user to a listed chemical above the level the regulation defines. In jewellery, the usual question is heavy-metal content in the alloy or in the plating. | Whether a piece needs a warning depends on the specific metal and the exposure route, so the document to request is the material or migration test for that piece, not a general statement. |
| ASTM B117 Salt Spray | A standard laboratory test in which coated samples are exposed to a continuous salt fog for a set number of hours, used to compare corrosion resistance between specifications. It is a comparative test, not a prediction of service life. | It is useful for ranking two plating options. The result depends on the exposure duration and the sample preparation, so ask under what conditions a figure was produced — see the plating guide. |
| Migration Test | A laboratory test measuring how much of a substance moves out of an article and onto a surface it touches, or into a liquid. Nickel release testing is one form of migration test. | Because it tests the finished surface rather than the raw material, the sample has to be the exact alloy and plating you intend to buy, so the styles in scope have to be named before testing starts. |
| Material Test Report (MTR) | A document from a mill or a foundry stating the chemical composition and properties of the metal in a specific batch. | It is how you check that a shipment is really 316L or really 925 rather than a cheaper lookalike, so it is worth asking for it on the batch you receive — see the material comparison. |
| SDS / MSDS | A Safety Data Sheet documents the hazards and handling requirements of a substance or a mixture. It describes material going into a factory, not the finished piece. | It is a health-and-safety document rather than a product certificate, so it does not replace a compliance test on the finished jewellery. When a marketplace asks you to prove compliance, ask for the test. |
| Hallmark | An official stamp stating the precious-metal fineness of a piece. In some markets it is applied by an assay office and is a legal requirement; in others a maker’s stamp such as 925 or S925 is the norm. | We mark silver to 925 or S925 on request at no extra cost, or laser-engrave your own mark. If your market requires an assay-office hallmark, tell us the destination and we will confirm what can be arranged — see 925 sterling silver jewellery. |
FAQ
Questions this page raises
What are the first terms to fix on a jewellery order?
Five, and between them they decide the price and the returns rate: the material or alloy, the plating method and its thickness in microns, the minimum order quantity per design, the lead time measured from written sample approval, and the compliance test your market requires. Everything else on this page is a detail of those five. Get them into the purchase order, because a term that is not written down is a term you cannot hold anyone to.
What is the difference between a stock program and a made-to-order line?
Stock designs are held on the shelf and dispatch in 3–7 days with a minimum of 10 pcs per design. Made-to-order designs are cast or machined after a drawing is approved and a physical sample is signed off, at 30 pcs per design in silver, 50 pcs in steel and 30 pcs in brass. Each material page publishes the price bands and the production window for that line.
Is a certificate the same thing as a test report?
No. A declaration or a certificate describes a specification — this alloy, this plating, this market. A test report describes the batch, or the samples that were actually submitted. If you need proof for a marketplace or for customs, ask for the current report for the exact alloy and plating you bought, and name the styles in scope, because the cost of testing depends on how many styles are involved.
How do I specify plating so that it is not a guess?
Give a method and a number: rhodium at 0.5 µm over a brass base, or 1 µm PVD gold on 316L. Our plating lines are quoted at 0.5–3 µm. If a quotation states only the colour, ask for the micron figure — that is the number that decides how long the piece lasts.
Which ring sizing standard should I order in?
The one your customer already reads. North America reads US numeric, most of Europe and Japan read diameter in millimetres (ISO 8653) and the UK reads letters. Send your size run and we will confirm every size against a gauge; the confirmation goes on the approved drawing so there is nothing to argue about later.
Keep reading
Where each term is used in practice
Material comparison
Silver, steel and brass side by side, with the cost, tarnish and skin-contact differences that decide which one your product should use.
Plating and finishes
Microns, PVD against electroplating, and the wording to put in your own purchase order.
MOQ and the first order
How to size a first run you will not get stuck with, and what a per-design minimum really means.
OEM and ODM service
How a custom design runs from a sketch or a reference through CAD to an approved sample.
Price list
Glossary
Send the basics and you will get our current price list for the material you are buying, plus stock availability and lead time. No design file needed to start.
What you get
Quoted line by line, not as a lump sum
- ✓Metal or base, plating in microns, stones and packing priced separately
- ✓Weight and dimensions on the drawing before anything is cast
- ✓A physical sample approved by you before any bulk run
- ✓Photographs of your pieces at every production milestone
- ✓Freight quoted for your route — courier, air or sea
Reply within one working day. No obligation, and no design file needed to start.
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Send your line sheet. Get a price list the same day.
Tell us the material, the pieces and the quantity. You will get our current price list, stock availability and lead time — and if it is a custom design, a CAD drawing within 48 hours.
- ✓Price list per material, with MOQ and lead time on every line
- ✓CAD drawing in 48 hours on custom designs
- ✓Physical sample before any bulk run
- ✓Photographs of your pieces at every production milestone
Price list
Price list, one working day
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