What the Quote Actually Covers in the Made to Order Program
A US buyer of metal Guide sent us a competitor's metal Guide in June with one question: why does this fail at stamp accuracy after a season. We measured it, rebuilt the spec around assay within 0.3K of the stamp and color match to the master chip, and shipped 50 metal Guide that cleared inspection with zero rejects, the figure being USD 56-400 for a 50-piece run.
That rejection was avoidable at the drawing stage. Stamp accuracy belongs on the spec sheet next to the stone size, not in the claim email three weeks after arrival, which the Made to Order file records at USD 56-400 in single-piece foam box.
We kept the Made to Order price and changed the four measurements that matter. The rebuild cost about 21 seconds per piece and removed the whole claim conversation, priced at USD 56-400 for the 50-piece Made to Order run.
The Made-to-Order Path for metal Guide
Made-to-order is a different production line, not a slower version of stock. It starts with a signed drawing, then a wax or resin model, then a casting, then setting, then finish, and each stage can fail on its own, and at USD 56-400 for 50 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
Twenty days is realistic for a new metal Guide when the model exists and only the stone changes. A new model adds a day for the CAD, a day for the print, and a day for the buyer to approve the render before metal is committed, priced at USD 56-400 for the 50-piece Made to Order run.
The risk sits in approval, not in the bench. A buyer who approves a render on a phone screen and rejects the casting has bought a prototype, not a product. We send the render at 1:1 scale with a millimetre grid for that reason, on a 50-piece Made to Order order at USD 56-400.
Three Failures That Reach the Made to Order Bench
alloy color drift
Two alloy lots of 14K rose can read peach and copper under the same light. Holding a master color chip per order keeps a collection coherent, and the Made to Order quote for it sits at USD 56-400.
The commercial effect is refining loss plus a legal stamp correction, typically USD 15-28 per piece. Buyers who have seen it once put it in the purchase order; buyers who have not usually discover it on the first return, which is how the Made to Order account reads it at USD 56-400.
solder joint porosity
A sizing joint soldered with too much flux pits after polish and cracks in wear. Joint inspection belongs in the final QC, not the bench, the figure being USD 56-400 for a 50-piece run.
Our countermeasure is a gauge and a written limit. It adds about 21 seconds per piece and removes the defect from the run rather than from the carton, and 50 pieces leaves Wuzhou in single-piece foam box at USD 56-400.
stamp accuracy
A 14K stamp on 13.6K metal is a legal exposure, not a cosmetic one. Assay per lot is the only defensible check, and at USD 56-400 for 50 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
In a 50-piece run this typically shows on 8 of pieces. Catching it means measuring assay within 0.3K of the stamp at the tray level, not inspecting the finished carton, and 50 pieces leaves Wuzhou in single-piece foam box at USD 56-400.
Four Spec Lines a Made to Order Buyer Checks
The Made to Order buyer signs on four numbers. The table puts the trade default beside our standard so the difference is visible before the deposit, and at USD 56-400 for 50 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
| Spec point | Common trade output | HOLYCOME standard | Cost if missed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clasp spring life | Sampled by hand | Cycled 500 times on a jig per lot | Detach claim and brand damage |
| Prong tension and seat depth | Checked by feel at the bench | Pull-tested per piece, seat depth written on the sheet | Stone loss and total replacement |
| Hallmark depth and placement | Stamped where it fits | Fixed position, depth measured so it never breaks the shank | Customs query and remaking |
| Solder flow at the joint | Not inspected | Joint inspected under 10x before setting | Crack at the seam in transit |
None of the four adds cost at USD 56-400. They add about 21 seconds per piece and remove the reason to inspect twice.
Terms Behind a Made to Order Order
The commercial frame is short enough to state in full. Minimum order is 50 pieces per design, and mixed designs travel in one shipment, so a 50-piece Made to Order order can carry three or four models without a separate setup charge. Sample pieces leave in 3-5 days when the components are in stock, and a new model adds about twenty days before the first article exists, with IGI report and single-piece foam box stated on the same sheet.
Payment is 30 percent with the order and 70 percent against the bill of lading, with the balance window stated on the invoice rather than agreed by message. Prices quoted at USD 56-400 are FOB Guangzhou or Shenzhen; DDP is quoted separately because the duty line moves with the tariff schedule and not with our cost.
Packing follows the single-piece foam box format at 50 pieces to the carton, and the packing list carries SKU, size and stone size so receiving can count without opening every box. Private-label cartons add three days for the print run and must be approved before the first bulk order, not after it, shipped as single-piece foam box and certified IGI report.
Certification is IGI report for the lots that carry it, with a batch report and per-piece measurement of assay within 0.3K of the stamp for the lots below the threshold. The document set travels with the shipping papers, which is what a customs broker asks for at the port rather than after clearance, and the Made to Order quote for it sits at USD 56-400.
A rejected tray is settled inside the same order cycle against the retained reference piece. If the difference sits on our retained sample we replace or credit; if it appeared in transit we split the assay cost and file with the carrier, and that rule is written on the order before the deposit clears, and 50 pieces leaves Wuzhou in single-piece foam box at USD 56-400.
Cost Split on a Made to Order Piece at USD 56-400
At USD 56-400 per piece for metal Guide, the stone sits near a quarter and the labor line moves by double digits between two quotes for one drawing.
| Cost line | Share | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Base metal or alloy for metal Guide | 32% | Alloy choice and casting yield |
| Stone or melee for metal Guide | 23% | Sieve range and lot batching |
| Setting and finishing labor for metal Guide | 21% | Jig design and bench minutes |
| Plating, polish and QC for metal Guide | 14% | Per-tray versus per-piece checks |
| Packaging for metal Guide | 10% | single-piece foam box |
The saving in the cheapest quote hides in plating and stone grade. At 50 pieces that saving is visible in season two, the figure being USD 56-400 for a 50-piece run.
Sample to Container: The Real Calendar
The figure below is what we quote for metal Guide, and it is deliberately narrower than the market average, certified IGI report and packed single-piece foam box at 50 pieces.
Three numbers decide it for metal Guide: the tolerance band, the inspection density and the responsibility clause. Write all three down and the rest of the negotiation is arithmetic. Leave any of them out and it becomes a discussion about intent, quoted at USD 56-400 per piece in single-piece foam box.
We send a one-page sheet with every metal Guide quote that states those three, plus the retained-tray rule. Buyers who compare on it usually find that the gap between suppliers is smaller than the gap between the specs they were comparing, which is USD 56-400 on the Made to Order schedule.
AQL, Tray Checks and What a QC Report Should Say
Most metal Guide disputes we arbitrate trace back to this line, not to the defect itself, the figure being USD 56-400 for a 50-piece run.
There is a version of this that looks cheaper on paper and costs more in practice: quoting the best case on metal Guide and letting the buyer discover the spread. It works once. The second order goes to whichever supplier quoted honestly, priced at USD 56-400 for the 50-piece Made to Order run.
We would rather lose a first order of metal Guide on price than explain a defect after it lands. That position is unusual in this category and it is the reason our reorder share is high, and at USD 56-400 for 50 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
The First Made to Order Order
Start with three designs at 50 pieces each. That covers the 50 pieces you need to read sell-through without betting on one model, and 50 pieces leaves Wuzhou in single-piece foam box at USD 56-400.
Sample 3-5 days, bulk 15-20 days under 500 pieces, 50 pieces inside that window. The calendar is the same on every Made to Order run, which the Made to Order file records at USD 56-400 in single-piece foam box.
Getting single-piece foam box to the US market
Sea freight costs roughly a third of air and takes three times the transit, which only makes sense for an SKU already selling in the US market, with IGI report and single-piece foam box stated on the same sheet, on a 50-piece Made to Order order at USD 56-400.
FOB is the default and DDP is the option. Buyers new to the US market usually take DDP once and then switch after they see the breakdown, priced at USD 56-400 for the 50-piece Made to Order run.
At receiving, count cartons, weigh one tray and measure ten pieces against assay within 0.3K of the stamp. Twenty minutes here saves a season of returns, and the Made to Order quote for it sits at USD 56-400.
The Calendar Behind a Made to Order Run
Nothing in this sequence is clever. Each step exists because skipping it cost somebody a claim on metal Guide at USD 56-400.
- Sign the drawing at 1:1 scale with a millimetre grid, not a phone render.
- Cut the model in wax or resin and photograph it on the gauge before metal is committed.
- Cast the first article, set the stones and finish it exactly as bulk will be finished.
- Send the first article for approval with the weight and the stone measurements stated.
- Run the balance of the order in 25-30 days, holding the approved article as the reference.
- Ship with the approved article photographed beside a production piece from the same tray.
MOQ is 50 pieces per design, low enough to test a category and high enough to keep the casting line accountable, on a 50-piece Made to Order order at USD 56-400.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you ship DDP?
DDP is available for US accounts and removes the duty invoice that arrives after the carton clears. FOB Guangzhou or Shenzhen is the default, and most buyers take DDP once and then switch after they see the breakdown, quoted at USD 56-400 per piece in single-piece foam box.
How long does a reorder of the same metal Guide take?
With the model, the gauge set and the signed spec already in our system, a repeat is 12-15 days; a first run is 3-5 days for a stock-component sample and about 20 days when a new model is needed, and the Made to Order quote for it sits at USD 56-400.
What finish do you use, and how thick is it?
Rhodium at 0.20 micron minimum on white metal Guide, with a palladium strike layer so wear-through reads white rather than yellow. Vermeil runs at 3 microns over sterling and is logged per lot, which the Made to Order file records at USD 56-400 in single-piece foam box.
How is metal Guide packed for single-piece foam box?
Every unit goes into a foam-backed pouch, then the single-piece foam box, then the outer carton at 50 pieces. The packing list carries the SKU, the size and the stone size so receiving can check without opening every box, and at USD 56-400 for 50 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
Can you ship DDP?
DDP is available for US accounts and removes the duty invoice that arrives after the carton clears. FOB Guangzhou or Shenzhen is the default, and most buyers take DDP once and then switch after they see the breakdown, quoted at USD 56-400 per piece in single-piece foam box.
Next Step
If the USD 56-400 band fits the shelf, send a drawing and we quote the 50-piece Made to Order run inside one business day.
HOLYCOME runs this line from Wuzhou, Guangxi, through Wuzhou HengliLai Jewelry Co., Ltd. Output is about 60,000 pieces a month across metal Guide and adjacent categories. service@holycome.com or WhatsApp +86 18078079070, and at USD 56-400 for 50 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
Related reading: Metal Guide Private Label Carton: MOQ, Mixed Designs and the Real First Order - HOLYCOME Buying Guides Q4 Holiday Stock: How the Second Order Becomes Cheaper - HOLYCOME
