Jewellery is one of the few trades where a small maker can still compete with big brands, because taste and trust matter more than scale. But it is also unforgiving: capital gets locked in stock, gold prices move daily, and one bad hallmarking decision can cost you a customer's faith.
This guide walks you through the real decisions in order - what to sell, where to source, how to photograph and price honestly, how to ship without losing pieces, and when to stock up for the festive months. Verify licensing and tax specifics with a professional, because rules change.
Pick your lane before you spend a rupee
Your entire cost structure, compliance burden, and customer expectation flow from this one choice. Do not try to do all three at once.
Artificial and fashion jewellery is the low-capital entry point - brass, alloy, kundan, oxidised, and plated pieces. Fashion cycles are fast, margins on trendy designs are healthy, and there is no hallmarking to worry about. Silver sits in the middle; BIS hallmarking rules apply to silver items in defined purity grades, so check current requirements before you sell. Fine gold jewellery needs serious working capital and BIS hallmarking is mandatory for gold in most categories - verify the exact karat and item rules that apply to you.
- Artificial/fashion: ₹20,000-₹1 lakh to start, fast trends, no hallmark hassle, thin repeat loyalty
- Silver: moderate capital, hallmarking applies - confirm current BIS norms
- Fine gold: high capital locked in metal, BIS hallmark mandatory, higher trust and repeat value
Where to source: the three hubs
India's jewellery supply chain is concentrated, and buying near the source cuts your cost meaningfully once you can order in small lots.
Jaipur is the centre for kundan, meenakari, polki and coloured stones. Rajkot in Gujarat is strong for silver and CZ-studded work at scale. Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar covers gold, diamonds and finished fine jewellery. For artificial jewellery, Delhi's Sadar Bazaar and local wholesale markets work for smaller quantities. Start with sample orders, test quality and finish, then negotiate repeat rates.
- Jaipur: kundan, polki, meenakari, gemstones
- Rajkot: silver and CZ jewellery, good for volume
- Mumbai (Zaveri Bazaar): gold, diamonds, fine finished pieces
- Delhi Sadar Bazaar: fashion/artificial in small lots
Photography makes or breaks the sale
Jewellery is bought with the eyes. Buyers zoom in to judge the setting, the shine and the stone. Blurry or dark photos read as cheap, whatever the actual quality.
You do not need a studio. A phone with a macro or portrait mode, a small lightbox, and diffused daylight will show detail honestly. Shoot on a neutral background, capture at least one on-model or in-hand shot for scale, and keep colour true - over-edited gold looks fake and drives returns.
- Use a macro lens or macro mode for close texture and stone clarity
- Shoot in soft, diffused light to avoid harsh glare on metal
- Include a hand or ear shot so buyers judge real size
- Keep edits honest; exaggerated shine causes returns and disputes
Price with transparent making charges
Buyers who understand jewellery expect a clear split, especially for silver and gold: metal weight and rate, plus making charges, plus GST as applicable. Hiding making charges inside one round figure erodes trust with informed customers.
For artificial jewellery, price on design value and trend, but stay anchored to what similar pieces fetch on marketplaces so you are not ignored or seen as overpriced. Build in your packaging, shipping and return costs before you set the number, not after. Check the current GST rate for your category rather than assuming.
Ship insured and pack like it matters
A lost or damaged parcel in jewellery is not just a refund - it is your margin plus the piece gone. Use insured, trackable shipping for anything of real value, and photograph the packed item before dispatch to protect yourself in disputes.
Pack small, rigid, and discreet. Avoid writing 'jewellery' on the outside. COD is popular with Indian buyers but carries return-to-origin risk on high-value orders, so consider nudging prepaid with UPI for expensive pieces and reserving COD for lower-ticket fashion items.
- Insure and track high-value shipments
- Photograph packed parcels before handover
- Prefer prepaid/UPI on expensive orders to reduce RTO losses
Build your store without the tech headache
Marketplaces are fine for reach, but they own the customer and squeeze margins. Your own store lets you show your full collection, tell your craft story, and keep repeat buyers - which matters most in jewellery, where trust drives the second purchase.
Kartrocket, Shiprocket's chat-native business builder, lets you describe your jewellery business in plain language (Hinglish is fine) and watch a working store build itself. There are templates made for jewellery, product listings with ₹ pricing, and checkout with COD, UPI and cards where prices are computed on the server so they can't be tampered with. Shipping runs on Shiprocket with tracking across 24,000+ pincodes. You can build and publish free on yourname.kartrocket.ai with SSL, and connect your own domain later. Checkout and payments sit on a locked core the AI can't break, and every change has one-click undo.
- Free to build and publish; pay only real costs like courier, gateway fees and your domain
- Jewellery templates that are working storefronts, not mockups
- COD, UPI and card checkout with server-side pricing
- Import your existing catalog from a site or marketplace listing
Plan your calendar around the festive rush
Jewellery demand in India is seasonal and predictable. Akshaya Tritiya, Dhanteras and Diwali, the wedding months, Karwa Chauth and Raksha Bandhan drive the bulk of sales. Stock and design decisions made two to three months ahead decide whether you catch the wave.
Order early, because your Jaipur or Rajkot suppliers get swamped closer to the festivals and both prices and lead times rise. Shoot and list new collections well before the season so your store is ready when buyers start searching.
- Stock 2-3 months before Dhanteras, Diwali and wedding season
- Order from hubs early to beat price and lead-time spikes
- List festive collections before demand peaks, not during
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a GST registration to sell jewellery?
Is hallmarking mandatory for what I want to sell?
How much money do I need to start?
Should I offer COD for jewellery?
How do I reduce losses from lost or damaged parcels?
Can I sell on my own website and on marketplaces together?
Ready to put your collection online?
Describe your jewellery business in plain words and watch a working store build itself - free to publish, yours to grow.
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