What to Send a Jewelry Factory So the Quote Doesn’t Change Later
Most quote revisions are not suppliers moving the goalposts. They are answers arriving after the questions. Here is the file set that makes a first quote hold.
Why quotes move
A quote is a set of assumptions written down. If the drawing does not state wall thickness, the estimator assumes one. If stone sizes are not given, they assume a commercial grade. When the real number turns up three weeks later, the quote moves — and by then the design has been approved, the launch date has been promised, and the conversation is no longer technical.
The fix is not to negotiate harder. It is to remove the assumptions before they are made.
The file set
1. One drawing that shows dimensions, not just shape
A render sells a design; a dimensioned drawing makes one. The numbers that change a quote: overall dimensions, band width and thickness at its thinnest point, stone sizes and quantities, and any clearance between moving parts. A sketch with numbers beats a beautiful render without them.
2. Metal and finish, stated separately
Karat and colour are not the same decision as finish. '18K yellow, mirror polish on the outer face, satin inside' is a specification. 'Gold, shiny' is not. The finish drives labour, and labour is the line item most often guessed.
3. Stone specification — or an explicit 'advise me'
Natural or lab-grown, size, quantity, grade if you have one. If you do not know, say so and ask for options; that is a normal request and it produces a better answer than a guess does. Seat geometry follows stone geometry, so this decision has to be made before the model is final. See our capabilities.
4. Quantity — including whether this is a sample or a run
Say whether the first piece is a prototype or the start of a run. They are quoted differently, and the sample becomes the reference the rest of the run is measured against — so it is worth knowing which one you are buying.
5. What must not change
Every design has one thing the designer will not move. Say what it is. It tells the workshop where the freedom is, and it is usually the difference between 'we had to change this' and 'we changed the wrong thing'.
6. Timing in the form of a date, not a deadline
'Needed by the 14th' is workable. 'ASAP' is not. If there is a launch date behind the number, say so — it changes what is worth proposing.
What you should get back
A quote that holds is one you can read. Ours separates metal, stones, labour, setting, finishing and any development work, because a single number makes it impossible to see what changed when something moves. If a supplier will not break the number down, you cannot compare them — and comparing is the point.
You should also get a manufacturing opinion at the design stage, before anything is quoted: what we would change, what we would split, what we would do last. That conversation is free, and it is usually where the money is saved. See how we work.
Before you send anything
An NDA can be signed before a single file, drawing or sample changes hands. During development, your files, printed prototypes and samples are handled by one team from start to finish and are not reused for other work. After delivery, your CAD files, wax masters and fixtures are not shown or passed on without your permission.
What to send, in the order it changes the price
Not everything matters at the same moment. These three groups match the three decisions a workshop has to make: can we read this, can we build this, and what does the run look like.
Three things buyers ask before sending anything
Is a sketch enough to start?
Yes for a manufacturability read, no for a firm price. A sketch can be reviewed and marked up, but any number produced from it carries assumptions, and those assumptions are where the quote moves later. Send the sketch, and ask which parts of the price are estimated.
Do I need a CAD file?
Not to begin. A dimensioned drawing or a measured sample can be modelled. A CAD file saves one round of interpretation, and if you have one, send it with its version number so both sides are looking at the same geometry.
What if I do not know the stone grade?
Then say what the piece has to achieve commercially: a price point, a visual effect, a category. Ask for two options at different bands. Two honest quotes at two grades tell you more than one quote at an undefined grade, which is not a quote at all.
You do not need a perfect package to start. A dimensioned sketch, a metal, a stone size and a quantity will get you a real answer; a sentence and a reference image will get you a conversation. What slows things down is not missing files — it is missing numbers.
Send what you have — a sketch, a CAD file or one sentence. We reply with a manufacturing opinion first. Send a project inquiry