Whether you’re a fashion retailer, an e-tailer, an eBay seller, or you simply want to earn some extra income selling costume jewelry, the key to success is finding great wholesale jewelry from a costume jewelry supplier. Finding high quality wholesale fashion jewelry can be an elusive quest, though, so here are five tips to get you started.

1. When it comes to wholesale jewelry, import is king.

Almost all fashion jewelry is imported, so you need to find a costume jewelry supplier that obtains jewelry from around the globe. The more sources of jewelry the supplier has, the more likely it is that you’ll be able to find the variety of pieces you need at bargain prices. In addition, you’ll be assured of a steady stream of new pieces and your ability to obtain the wholesale jewelry you need won’t be hampered by world events that negatively impact those wholesalers with only one supply chain.

2. Find a jewelry trend spotter.

Unless you’re steeped in the world of fashion, you won’t be exposed to the nuances of seasonal jewelry trends. A good wholesale jewelry store will do your homework for you, and offer pieces that reflect the latest trends in jewelry design. You don’t want to be stuck with chunky necklaces when fine filigree is in fashion, but you want to make sure you have enough hoop earrings when they hit the fashion runways.

3. Don’t forget the classics.

Although it’s important to have a variety of trendy pieces, a good wholesale costume jewelry supplier will also carry the classics, like sterling silver, cubic zirconia, Swarovski crystal, and semi-precious stone jewelry. Unless you specialize in being fashion forward, more traditional pieces are staples that will sell year-round.

4. Look for breadth and depth.

Accessories consist of more than earrings, bracelets, and necklaces, so your wholesale jewelry supplier should carry a wide variety of pieces. Anklets and toe rings are must-haves, but so are body jewelry, cell phone jewelry, hair accessories, key chain charms, and bejeweled belts.

5. Look for minimums, shipping, and customer satisfaction.

When you’re shopping for wholesale jewelry, find a costume jewelry supplier that has a reasonable minimum purchase. You may not be able to – or want to – commit to investing a significant sum of money in fashion jewelry. An online wholesale jewelry store, for example, may only have a fifty-dollar minimum order, which is a perfect place to start.

In addition, it’s important that the supplier you select has the merchandise in stock, rather than forcing you to wait until they receive their jewelry import. Look for a company that ships on the same business day or by the next business day at the latest.

Finally, one of the best ways to judge a wholesale jewelry supplier is by their commitment to customer satisfaction. The supplier should be able to provide you with testimonials, and attest to the importance of customer satisfaction to their business.

McClellan Pierce

Genuine handcrafted silver jewelry is as beautiful as it is unique. Whether you’re looking for pieces to add to your collection or are shopping for gifts, there are excellent online sources for handmade earrings, pendants, rings, barrettes, and necklaces. For a wonderful buying experience, follow these five tips.

1. Find a reputable source. This may go without saying, but don’t confuse commercially manufactured jewelry with handcrafted silver jewelry. The latter is made by artisans that take great pride in their work. It’s helpful to look for a company that has been in business for decades, and that has been selling online for at least five years.

2. Take advantage of customization. When jewelry is handmade, it can be customized in any number of ways, from the lengths of chains to the types of gemstones used in pendants and rings. You don’t need to settle for “almost good enough.” Instead, you can get the piece you’ve always dreamed of, in exactly the right size.

3. Measure carefully. Because customized pieces generally aren’t returnable, it’s important to make sure that the handcrafted silver jewelry you order will fit. It only takes a few minutes to get a good measurement, and doing so will ensure that the necklace or ring you order will be exactly what you want. For rings, ask a friend to take a piece of string, put it around the knuckle or largest part of your finger, and mark the string. To determine the size, hold the string against a tape measure and compare your measurement to the website’s sizing chart. If you’re in between sizes, it’s best to go with the larger size. You can also use string to measure for bracelet, necklace, or anklet lengths.

4. Do your gemstone research. The best online jewelry sites have a wealth of information on gemstones. Before you order, read up on the gemstones you are considering. It’s important to know, for example, that aquamarine can be cleaned with dishwashing detergent, but that ultrasonic and steam cleaning may damage the stone. Similarly, you may know that pearls are delicate and can easily absorb liquids, but you might not know that turquoise is also porous and can easily become stained.

If you’re going to order jewelry with gemstones, it’s also crucial to know whether the stones are natural or if their colors have been enhanced. Reputable artisans will freely share this information. Don’t be alarmed, however, if the stones have been heated or irradiated to intensify or change their colors. Naturally colored rubies, sapphires, and topaz, for example, are extraordinarily rare; it is an accepted practice within the jewelry industry to enhance gemstone colors.

5. Invest in the real thing. Silver jewelry is gorgeous, but only if it’s real silver. Make sure that the online source you select uses either sterling silver (.925 or 92.5 percent silver) or fine silver (99.9 percent pure silver). When you invest in handcrafted silver jewelry, you’re not only buying a piece you will treasure, but one that is likely to become an heirloom for future generations.

McClellan Pierce

Are all Tahitian pearls black? What’s the difference between a cultured pearl and a natural pearl? Are freshwater pearls inferior to saltwater pearls? Are South Sea pearls really golden?

Good questions. With all the different pearl colors and types out there, it can be difficult to know just what you’re looking at. For those interested in buying pearls, or for gem enthusiasts who wish to learn more, here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about pearls.

Are All Tahitian Pearls Black?
Not only are Tahitian cultured pearls not exclusively black, they’re also not grown in Tahiti. Called “black” because of their exotic dark colors, Tahitian cultured pearls can also be gray, blue, green and brown. And they’re grown in the lagoons of small islands that are part of a group known as French Polynesia. Tahiti, the largest island, serves as the group’s center of commerce, and not as a pearl growing mecca.

Tahitian pearls are cultivated for about two years in Pinctada margaritifera cumingi, a large mollusk native to French Polynesia. One of the ways this unique oyster differs from other species is its interior shell color, which is dark. This so-called “black lipped” oyster also has black mantle edges—the “lips” that give this animal its descriptive name.

Today, the most sought-after Tahitian cultured pearls are dark green-gray to blue gray with rosé or purple overtones. Pearl colors are determined by several factors, including variations in the host oyster, color variation of the implanted donor mussel tissue, the number and thickness of nacre layers, and variations in growing environment such as temperature and water quality. Tahitians are most often variations of gray, black, green and blue, but other colors exist.

At an average size of 8mm-14mm, Tahitian cultured pearls—especially those specimens that are gem-quality and round—are very expensive. According to the latest information from the Gemological Institute of America, up to 40 percent of implanted black-lipped oysters produce a gem-quality cultured pearl, but only about 5 percent of the pearls they produce are round. And only 1-2 percent of the entire crop will result in round cultured pearls of the finest quality. No wonder a Tahitian pearl strand is so costly! If you want to wear Tahitian cultured pearls, one way to do so without breaking the bank is to choose a pendant-style necklace with a single pearl, pearl stud earrings, a single pearl ring, or baroque (non-symmetrical) pearls. These designs are every bit as exotic and a lot more affordable than a matched strand.

What’s the difference between a cultured pearl and a natural pearl?
Natural pearls are formed when an irritant, such as a parasite, makes its way into a pearl-producing animal such as an oyster or mollusk. To protect itself, the animal coats the irritant in nacre—a combination of organic substances that also makes up what we call mother-of pearl. Over time, the layers of nacre build up around the intruder and eventually form the organic gem we all know as the pearl.

Cultured pearls are formed in the same way as natural pearls, with one big difference: they get their start not by chance, but deliberately, when man intervenes with nature. To produce cultured pearls, a skilled technician, called a nucleator, induces the pearl-growing process by surgically placing an irritant—a mother-of-pearl bead and a piece of mantle tissue, usually—into a mollusk. The animal is then placed back into the water and monitored, cleaned, etc. until the pearl is ready to be harvested.

The Chinese have been culturing freshwater blister pearls (pearls that grow underneath the mantle on the inside of the animal’s shell) since the 13th century, but Kokichi Mikimoto, a Japanese man, is credited with developing modern pearl culturing techniques. By the early 1920s, Mikimoto was selling his cultured pearls worldwide.

Natural pearls can be very beautiful, but due to overfishing, pollution and other factors, they are a rare find indeed. Thus, nearly all pearls sold today are cultured pearls. There are two main types: freshwater and saltwater. South Sea cultured pearls, Tahitian cultured pearls and akoya cultured pearls are all types of saltwater pearls. Cultured pearls of all types can be found in jewelry stores worldwide.

Are saltwater pearls better than freshwater pearls?
It depends on who you ask, but many pearl experts today agree that freshwater cultured pearls can rival the beauty of their saltwater cousins. Due to improvements in culturing techniques, freshwater pearl farmers are producing beautiful, round, lustrous pearls that are a vast improvement over the wrinkled, rice-krispie-shaped gems that typified the freshwater pearl crop of the not-so-distant past.

Produced mainly in China, freshwater pearls are often nucleated, or implanted, with mantle tissue only (rather than a mother-of-pearl bead). Because they do not contain a starter bead, tissue-nucleated freshwater pearls are 100% nacre. This gives them a beautiful luster and a durable surface that won’t easily flake or peel to reveal the inner bead. By contrast, pearls that are bead-nucleated and harvested too soon often have only a thin coating of nacre that will flake or peel. This is a major problem: Unlike many other gemstones, pearls cannot be polished back to perfection.

Freshwater cultured pearls come in many beautiful natural pastel colors including cream, white, yellow, orange, pink and lavender. (Universally flattering lavender pearls are very popular right now.) White pearls are bleached to enhance their natural shine. Black freshwater cultured pearls are treated with dye or heat to produce their inky color.

Overall, freshwater pearls are more plentiful than other pearl types, thus they are generally more affordable.

Are South Sea pearls really golden?
Yes. Pearls produced in the aptly named “gold-lipped” oyster (P. maxima) can be a gorgeous creamy yellow, referred to as “golden” in the trade. (The silver-lipped variety of P. maxima produces beautiful silver or white pearls.) Grown in the South Seas—which stretch from the southern coast of Southeast Asia to the northern coast of Australia—these pearls are grown in one of the biggest oysters used in pearl culturing. Because they can accept a larger bead and secrete nacre faster than their smaller counterparts, these big oysters produce large pearls of exceptional luster and beauty. South Sea pearls’ thick coating of nacre gives the gems a wonderful luster, or glow, that appears to come from deep within the pearl. The warm waters, abundant food supply and low pollution levels of the South Seas also help these oysters produce beautiful cultured pearls.

Although Australia produces 60% of the world’s South Sea cultured pearls, Indonesian farmers work more with the gold-lipped oyster, and thus produce more golden pearls. The silver-lipped variety produces equally beautiful pearls that come in white to silver and often have rosé, blue or green overtones. Aside from giving them a light wash, pearl farmers do not treat South Sea pearls after harvest.

McClellan Pierce