Price is the major factor when sourcing products from overseas suppliers. It's important and sensitive. How to choose wisely? Which factors should be considered?
There are lots of factors impacting the product costs, such as design, metal material, stones grade and type, electroplating thickness and materials, craftsmanship, polish, quantity, turnaround time, communication efficiency, and etc.
Here are some factors that influence and determine the price of jewelry.
1) Designing style and brand
For jewelry made of precious metal and stone, besides the value of the material, the additional value is also reflected in the price of the jewelry, such as the brand awareness and reputation.
Designing style also determines the value of the jewelry. Silver jewelry is different from gold, gemstone, and diamond jewelry. It is almost impossible to value them just by silver weight and grams. A high-value-added silver jewelry that is exclusively designed and crafted by well-known jewelry designers, combines fashion, art, and popular elements, usually widely recognized by the market and consumers.
2) Grade of metal material
Silver
Silver is classified into various types,
such as 999 silver, 925 silver and etc.
999 silver is also called fine silver. It's very close to pure silver, and stamped 999 which indicates 99.9% purity. 999 silver is very soft and easy to fold due to the features of the silver itself. Therefore, it couldn't meet the requirements of exquisite craftsmanship and is not suitable for making fine small pieces of jewelry.
925 silver is made of 92.5% silver with 7.5% copper and other alloy. The other metals in the silver increase the hardness of the material, and making it more suitable for jewelry making.
Silver material is roughly divided into premium and common grade. Common grade silver is limited in purity degree, while premium silver has a higher degree of purification which can reach to 99.99%. Jewelry made of premium grade silver has a delicate, fine and smooth surface, completely meets the technical standards of high-end silver jewelry.
Brass
Most of fashion jewelry is made of eco-friendly brass. It's safe to wear.
While you can still find some cheap brass jewelry on the market. They are made of a lower level material in quality.
Stainless steel
Stainless steel jewelry is made from 304 or 316L steel. 316L steel is hypoallergenic and safe, normally used for external jewelry and piercing jewelry.
To save the cost, other type of steel might be used for jewelry making for some suppliers, such as 201, 202, and 301 steel.
3) Craftsmanship
Price range is very big for different level of craftsmanship. For some high-end 925 silver jewelry, labor cost is even much higher than material.
High-end jewelry is exquisite in workmanship, unique in style and elegant in taste. It's clean and delicate, has smooth surface. All gaps are carefully grinded and polished to remove any rough and dull areas. Measurements are strictly controlled. Stones are set securely with the utmost care and precision, so it could
enhance the brilliance of stones by showing their cut, clarity and color.
Therefore, craftsmanship is a major factor to affect the price.
4) Plating material and thickness
Plating is an indispensable step in the process of jewelry making. The plating layer not only protects the metal surface from rapidly tarnish over time, but also makes the jewelry look more shinning.
Generally, the plating process of jewelry with low unit price often uses low-cost electroplating materials, and the process is also simplified, so that the jewelry is easy to oxidize, fade, and even cause skin allergies.
5) Stone setting
For all jewelry with stones, the way to set stones on the jewelry also affects the cost.
There are wax setting and hand-setting methods. Wax setting is to fix stones on the mold before casting, but it's not suitable for precious stones and Swarovski crystals, because the heat of the silver in liquid might affect the quality of the stones. For hand-setting method, stones are set by hands one by one on the jewelry, which is more expensive.
6) Production method and quantity
You might be confused why these two factors are listed together. Speaking of this, we have to mention the MOQ that many buyers are most avidly concerned with.
Normally the MOQ is requested for OEM jewelry. The whole manufacturing process is almost the same for several pieces and thousands of pieces. The more we produce, the lower the price. Minimum Order Quantity is offered to make sure that the unit price can be accepted by most of clients.
Quantity determines the way to process the order. It may be difficult to understand. Take 925 silver name necklace for example. There are two methods to make it.
➀ Lost wax casting
When design is confirmed, a wax mold is hand-crafted or created by machine, then pouring molten metal into the mold and breaking the mold to reveal the finished product.
For bulk order, when a mold is made, all pieces are just copied from mold.
As all pieces are copied from one mold, names must be the same. It's suitable for bulk order. Price is expensive for one piece.
➁ Laser cutting
When mockup is approved, all pieces are directly cut out from silver sheet.
It's fast and convenient. Name can be different for every piece. No MOQ limit. You can order any quantity you want.
Anyway, labor cost is very high. There are more wasted material. Unit price is much higher for bulk order made in one name.
7) Production turnaround
Personalized jewelry is made to order. The turnaround must be short and fast enough, or clients may complain or request a refund for waiting too long.
Due to the varying designs and complex production process, it's possible to make mistakes during the production, which may lead to longer lead time.
This demands the team to pay close attention to all the steps of the production process and react immediately to any issues that occur.
8) Defect rate
Incorrect or defective products ruin the brand reputation and affect the sales. It's very bad for long-term business development.
Personalized jewelry differ in name, font, size, color, chain length and chain type. Every piece is different. Quality control is very critical in ensuring smooth production that meets each client's specific requirements.
Our company strives to make sure that every product we ship is correct and qualified.
9) Communication efficiency
Creating a jewelry design is a complicated process, and it can take a long time to get it all right. It's important to set the right expectations for each design from the start, and provide us as much information as possible. This will help avoid any issues down the line.
Effective communication helps avoid costly misunderstandings, prevents delays, and saves time. It's very important to fully understand the clients expectations, respond quickly to the requirements, adapt to the demands of clients and improve the experience of relating to them.
It's more convincing by quoting a saying from our clients.
"I wish my vendors understood the importance of simple communication, and the efficiency in product and customer service. "
10) After-sale service
Price is also a key factor in services, particularly in after-sales.
When order is done and shipped out, it's not the closure of the deal, but the beginning of the support for the clients.
No supplier is perfect and doesn't make mistakes. What matters is how to act when clients have complaints about the products or service. Improving the workflow, learning and avoiding the same problems being repeated, remaking the order, refunding the money, or just ignoring, this is a question.
Our company do best to gurantee that all products we ship are qualified and meet our clients requirements. Anyway, we may encounter unexpected issues once in a while.
When receiving a complaint, our team works on it in every possible way, and provides workable solutions to our clients.
In addition to the factors mentioned above, there are others that also affect the price of jewelry, such as production technology, jewelry size, etc.
Please contact us to learn more details about how to create custom designs within your budget.
