How to get my jewelry designs manufactured? Part 1: Where to find manufacturers

Disclaimer: This article is written by Primarose company,  one of the leading silver and brass jewelry manufacturers in Thailand. We also wholesale sterling silver jewelry. All information is based on our 20 years of experience. 

To answer this question, we produced a 3-part series, including (1) where to find manufacturers, (2) how to select the best ones, and (3) how to calculate the total budget. In this article, we will focus on part 1 “where to find manufacturers”. If you are interested in other parts you can check the links below. 

1. where to find manufacturers
2. how to select the best ones
3. how to calculate the total budget

Before looking at the ways how to find jewelry manufacturers. Please first consider the countries of your interest. 

Considering countries of your interest

There are many countries in the world that are the hubs of the jewelry industry, and each location has its own specialization.

We will write about Thailand, India, Italy, and China in this article as they are examples of the big players in this business.

Thailand

Most jewelry manufacturers in Thailand are experts in silver, even though many of us also make gold jewelry. Just only a few firms create costume ones.

With the low minimum wage, we are able to create good-quality products at affordable prices. Many craftsmen have high skills to make complex pieces. Thus, we are also famous for handmade jewelry with good prices.

Regarding the quality, it varies but the gap between good and bad ones is not that noticeable.     

India

India is famous for gold or fine jewelry even though many firms are also creating silver pieces. We notice that most of their designs are vintage and luxurious like the one in the picture below. With the low minimum salary rate, it is also attractive for good prices. 

(picture source: Apara store)

Italy

Italy’s minimum wage is not low at all, but it is well known for making chains by machines.

With its exceptional technology, it is the hub of chain purchasing and other kinds of jewelry that can be created by machines, such as simple lockets. 

China

As the world’s manufacturer, China produces almost everything including jewelry.

Its most prominent jewelry market is costume/fashion ornaments, although there are many corporates that sell 925 silver and gold jewelry.

Its strength is offering very low prices with a huge volume. Therefore, if you are interested in ordering costume ornaments in a very huge quantity with a fast delivery time, we recommend China. 

  4 Methods to find manufacturers

There are at least 4 methods to find manufacturers for your jewelry designs. Please look at the chart below. 

Jewelry Fair Exhibition

This is the most traditional means. It had been the most popular choice for many jewelry designers/wholesalers/retailers around the world to find their targeted manufacturers until the pandemic hit hard to the extent that all exhibitions were postponed.

Unfortunately, the exhibition cannot maintain its popularity after the Covid from the perspectives of both customers and manufacturers, even though some countries like Singapore still hold this event almost every year. 

It will be held at a magnificent hall where you can meet and greet jewelry manufacturers directly. 

Pros

• The manufacturers are likely to be reliable because it requires them to pay a huge amount of money to participate. Therefore, most manufacturers in the fair tend to be quite financially stable and have been in the industry for many years. For example, we paid around 8,000-11,000$ for just a small exhibition area as you can see our Primarose’s booth below. 
• You will have a chance to see products directly. This is very authentic because many product pictures on the internet tend to be passed through several beauty applications. 
• You will have a chance to communicate with the salesperson directly. Hence, it requires just only a little time to consider whether our businesses are compatible. 

Cons 

• If you are residing in a country that doesn’t hold an exhibition, you might pay for the airplane ticket to attend the fair. 

Search them directly

This method is becoming more and more popular, especially during the pandemic period. You can find them directly via any search engine like google and yahoo by using relevant keywords. 

While the positive aspects are fast, easy, and free, the disadvantage is that there is nothing to help you screen them for reliability. 

Third-party sites

Third-party sites like Alibaba can be another choice.

Their benefits are similar to searching them directly but please make sure about the country of interest first.

Some third-party sites have around 90% of members who come from the same country. 

Friends recommend

There are both positive aspects and negative ones about recommendations by friends.

You seem to get real information without advertising but at the same time, it is one of the most difficult ways to get and some people tend to keep good sources for themselves.