Jewelry Manufacturing Glossary for Buyers
These are the terms that show up between your first enquiry and your first delivery. Knowing them makes specifications tighter and quotes faster — most delays in a new program come from two sides using the same word for different things.
CAD / CAM
The 3D model of your piece and the machine path used to grow or cut a master from it. CAD approval is the first fixed decision point in any program: changes after CAD cost time, changes after sampling cost money.
Casting
Molten metal poured into a mould grown from the CAD master. Casting quality determines porosity, and porosity determines how the piece polishes and how long it survives wear.
Setting
Fixing stones into metal — prong, bezel, pavé, channel, bar, flush. The setting method drives both labour cost and stone security, and it is the single largest variable in the price of a stone-heavy piece.
Semi-mount / mounting
A finished setting without its centre stone. Retailers buy mountings so they can set a customer’s own stone or match a centre from their own inventory.
PPS — pre-production sample
The final approved physical piece that bulk production must match. Nothing should enter bulk until a PPS is signed off; the PPS is the reference your QC claims are measured against.
MOQ and tiers
Minimum order quantity, usually quoted per design rather than per order. Ask for tier pricing — the same design at three quantity levels — so you can plan a launch and a replenishment from one quote.
Melee
Small accent stones, typically under 0.20 ct, used in pavé and halo work. Calibrated melee is sorted to precise size ranges so the setting looks even across the whole piece.
Lab-Grown vs Natural Diamonds — A Buyer’s View
Margin, certification and assortment logic for retail programs.
How to Verify IGI & GIA Certificates
Check any stone we ship against the issuing lab’s own database.
The 4Cs, for Purchasing Teams
Speak grading fluently when you write specifications.
Metal Guide for Jewelry Programs
9K to platinum — what each choice does to cost, durability and market fit.
Put it into a specification
Tell us the program you are planning and we will come back with a manufacturing quote.