The Imitation Jewellery Market
Retailers are spoilt for choice these days when it comes to Wholesale Costume Jewellery. The array of styles and designs available for bulk purchase is vast.
In order to attract customers, designers have become more sophisticated in their manufacturing methods and are paying more attention to the current fashion trends in order to product collections that appeal to a greater audience.
The throwaway fashion boom, fuelled by cheap fashion retailers such as H & M and Primark, has increased demand for low cost contemporary fashion jewellery, and this is good news for jewellery wholesalers.
Precious jewellery such as diamonds and gold will always remain popular, however fashion conscious shoppers are more likely to opt for costume jewellery because of its affordability, increasing quality, and because they can easily update their accessories as fashion trends change, without spending a fortune.
Convincing imitation diamond earrings and rings can be bought for as little as $15 in some cases, so it isn’t surprising that shoppers are buying these accessories rather than spending hundreds of dollars on the real thing.
Fashion jewellery is a highly lucrative and competitive industry. There are a huge number of companies and private individuals, mostly in China and other Far Eastern countries, who manufacturer jewellery for bulk distribution, the majority of which is destined for western retailers.
In order to meet demand, they have to create striking jewellery that makes a lasting impact. In order to give themselves a competitive edge many of the top wholesale jewellery manufacturers will have researchers in their primary markets, whose sole purpose is to feed back information about the latest jewellery trends and designs.
Wholesale Jewellery doesn’t have to be bought off the peg. Exclusive Jewellery collections can be created on demand, however units costs tend to be higher due to the specific tooling required to complete such a job. Consequently this approach is cost-prohibitive for most small retailers and therefore remains a luxury afforded only by the biggest chains. Manufacturers can also be commissioned to make replicas of specific high-value jewellery pieces on demand, however this option will also carry additional tooling costs so the retailer must be certain that they will sell sufficient volume in order to cover costs.Tiffany jewellery tends to attract cheap imitations more than most because of their high profile designs. Given the quality of workmanship it can be very difficult to tell the difference between the imitation and the genuine article.