Vermeil and Gold Plating Specs for metal Guide
Vermeil means a gold layer of at least 2.5 microns over sterling silver, and the US market reads that number as a material claim rather than a finish note. Below 2.5 microns the piece is gold-plated, not vermeil, and the word cannot be used, shipped as retail box with care card and certified GRA report.
We run 3 microns on metal Guide for accounts that publish the claim, with a palladium strike layer so wear-through reads white and not yellow. Thickness is logged per lot and appears on the GRA report batch sheet, the figure being USD 72-512 for a 100-piece run.
The cost difference is real: the USD 72-512 band moves up roughly sixty percent against rhodium-finished silver, and the retail price has to carry that or the margin disappears in the second season when the plating shows wear.
Sample to Container: The Real Calendar
Last April, a US buyer of metal Guide placed 100 metal Guide against a sample signed in August. The first container landed with 9 pieces that failed on stamp accuracy alone, and USD 35-140 landed on the buyer's P&L before a single unit sold, shipped as retail box with care card and certified GRA report.
On a 100-piece order at USD 72-512, a stamp accuracy rate above two percent is not a quality surprise. It is a costing error that shows up as a credit note three weeks later.
Nothing in the rebuild was expensive. A gauge, a written limit and a retained tray did the work that a discount would only have delayed, on a 100-piece Vermeil Upgrade order at USD 72-512.
The Three Failures We See Most in Incoming Samples
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 100 pieces leaves Wuzhou in retail box with care card at USD 72-512.
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, shipped as retail box with care card and certified GRA report.
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, the figure being USD 72-512 for a 100-piece run.
In a 100-piece run this typically shows on 17 of pieces. Catching it means measuring assay within 0.3K of the stamp at the tray level, not inspecting the finished carton, and at USD 72-512 for 100 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
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, priced at USD 72-512 for the 100-piece Vermeil Upgrade run.
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, and at USD 72-512 for 100 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
Where USD 72-512 Per Piece Actually Goes
Cost at USD 72-512 leaves no room for assumption. The table shows which line compresses and which line only moves quality down.
| Cost line | Share | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Base metal or alloy for metal Guide | 30% | Alloy choice and casting yield |
| Stone or melee for metal Guide | 20% | Sieve range and lot batching |
| Setting and finishing labor for metal Guide | 19% | Jig design and bench minutes |
| Plating, polish and QC for metal Guide | 12% | Per-tray versus per-piece checks |
| Packaging for metal Guide | 19% | retail box with care card |
A factory that cannot state its bench minutes per piece has never costed its own line. Ask for minutes and for the reject rule, not for a discount, and 100 pieces leaves Wuzhou in retail box with care card at USD 72-512.
What US buyers Check Before They Sign
At USD 72-512 per piece the four measurements below are worth more than the discount being negotiated. One of them costs nothing to write down.
| Spec point | Common trade output | HOLYCOME standard | Cost if missed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plating thickness | Nominal only | 0.20 micron rhodium logged per lot, 3 microns on vermeil | Wear-through inside one season |
| Surface porosity after polish | Seen after plating | Cast porosity checked before plating, rejects pulled at that stage | Plating blister six weeks later |
| Stone colour consistency | Graded by eye under D65 | Colour matched to a retained master stone, per tray | Repeat colour complaint in the same SKU |
| Sizing drift across the run | Not measured | Go/no-go gauge on every size, drift held under 0.15 mm | Resize queue and reship cost |
Write these into the Vermeil Upgrade purchase order and the arrival check becomes arithmetic instead of recollection, which is how the Vermeil Upgrade account reads it at USD 72-512.
Order Terms, Sample Timing and Packing
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 100-piece Vermeil Upgrade 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, which the Vermeil Upgrade file records at USD 72-512 in retail box with care card.
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 72-512 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 retail box with care card format at 100 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, which the Vermeil Upgrade file records at USD 72-512 in retail box with care card.
Certification is GRA 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, which is how the Vermeil Upgrade account reads it at USD 72-512.
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, shipped as retail box with care card and certified GRA report.
Carton Cube, Duty and the Freight Line That Surprises Buyers
The figure below is what we quote for metal Guide, and it is deliberately narrower than the market average, with GRA report and retail box with care card stated on the same sheet.
We run this check per tray rather than per carton because the defect that matters on metal Guide is the one that repeats. A single odd piece is noise; a pattern across one tray is a process problem and it will be in every tray made after it, and 100 pieces leaves Wuzhou in retail box with care card at USD 72-512.
The report the buyer receives states the count per tray, the measured average and the outlier count for metal Guide. It is deliberately unglamorous, and it is the document that settles most disputes before they start, and 100 pieces leaves Wuzhou in retail box with care card at USD 72-512.
Alloy, Karat and the Cost of a Color Change
Most metal Guide disputes we arbitrate trace back to this line, not to the defect itself, priced at USD 72-512 for the 100-piece Vermeil Upgrade run.
The buyers who get the most out of metal Guide treat the first order as a measurement, not as a purchase. They buy a small run, measure the four numbers that matter, and then commit, certified GRA report and packed retail box with care card at 100 pieces.
We support it directly on metal Guide: a 50-piece test run per design, the same gauge standard as a bulk order, and the same retained tray. Small does not have to mean loose, and 100 pieces leaves Wuzhou in retail box with care card at USD 72-512.
Freight, Duty and the Arrival Check
Export runs through Guangzhou or Shenzhen. Air lands in 5-8 days on the US west coast, 7-10 on the east, and sea takes roughly three times the transit, quoted at USD 72-512 per piece in retail box with care card.
FOB is the default on metal Guide and DDP is the option. Buyers new to the US market usually take DDP once, then switch after they see the breakdown, certified GRA report and packed retail box with care card at 100 pieces, which the Vermeil Upgrade file records at USD 72-512 in retail box with care card.
If stamp accuracy appears in the arrival check, the retained tray decides who owns it. Keep the GRA report batch sheet in the same folder as the packing list, and 100 pieces leaves Wuzhou in retail box with care card at USD 72-512.
How a Repeat Order Gets Built
Nothing in this sequence is unusual, and that is the point. Each step exists because skipping it produced a specific failure on a previous order, which is how the Vermeil Upgrade account reads it at USD 72-512.
- 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.
Reorders inside this sequence run 12-15 days because the model, the gauge set and the signed spec stay in our system, which the Vermeil Upgrade file records at USD 72-512 in retail box with care card.
What This Means for a First Order
A first Vermeil Upgrade order of 50 pieces per design at USD 72-512 tests the line rather than the range. Three designs covers the shelf.
Ask for the retained tray and the GRA report batch sheet with the first shipment. Both are free and both decide the reorder, and at USD 72-512 for 100 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
Frequently Asked Questions
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, the figure being USD 72-512 for a 100-piece run.
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 is USD 72-512 on the Vermeil Upgrade schedule.
How is metal Guide packed for retail box with care card?
Every unit goes into a foam-backed pouch, then the retail box with care card, then the outer carton at 100 pieces. The packing list carries the SKU, the size and the stone size so receiving can check without opening every box, certified GRA report and packed retail box with care card at 100 pieces.
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, on a 100-piece Vermeil Upgrade order at USD 72-512.
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, the figure being USD 72-512 for a 100-piece run.
Next Step
The next step is a sample in 3-5 days, not a container. Write to service@holycome.com or WhatsApp +86 18078079070, subject Vermeil Upgrade, and the Vermeil Upgrade quote for it sits at USD 72-512.
HOLYCOME is operated by Wuzhou HengliLai Jewelry Co., Ltd., a factory in Wuzhou, Guangxi, producing since 2009 at roughly 60,000 pieces a month. Contact service@holycome.com or WhatsApp +86 18078079070, with GRA report and retail box with care card stated on the same sheet.
Related reading: Metal Guide Amazon FBA Ready: AQL, Tray Checks and What a QC Report Should Say - HOLYCOME Buying Guides Made to Order: What the Quote Actually Covers - HOLYCOME
