A jewellery manufacturer that exports should at least hold an Importer Exporter Code (IEC) and a GST registration. Beyond that, quality and social audit certificates are useful, but for imitation jewellery the test reports on the product itself matter more than any certificate on the factory wall.
Many good Rajkot workshops are small and hold only the basic registrations. That is not a reason to reject them, as long as the products pass the tests your market requires.
Registrations every exporter needs
- IEC (Importer Exporter Code) from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, needed to export.
- GST registration, which you can check online against the business name and address.
- Udyam registration for micro, small and medium businesses, common among Rajkot makers.
Quality and social audits
ISO 9001 shows the maker has a documented quality system. It does not prove the product is good, but it often means records, inspection steps and traceability are in place.
Large retailers often ask for a social compliance audit such as Sedex SMETA or amfori BSCI. These look at wages, working hours, safety and child labour. If you supply a retailer that requires one, check that the factory has a recent audit or is willing to undergo one.
Hallmarking only applies to gold and silver
BIS hallmarking applies to precious metal jewellery such as 92.5 sterling silver and gold, not to brass or alloy pieces. If a supplier offers sterling silver, ask for hallmarked pieces or a purity test report. If a supplier claims hallmarking on plated brass jewellery, treat it as a warning sign.
Product test reports matter most
Imitation jewellery is regulated on what it contains and what it releases on the skin. The EU limits nickel release from items in prolonged skin contact and limits lead and cadmium in jewellery under REACH. The US limits lead in children's jewellery under CPSIA, and several states add their own rules on cadmium.
Ask for reports from accredited labs on your own designs, tested against the rules of your market. A report on another customer's design, or one that is several years old, tells you little about your order.
What this means for a buyer
Check the registrations, ask for audits if your customers need them, and insist on test reports for your own styles. Creston & Co works for buyers only, for a fixed fee agreed in writing: we verify registrations, visit the workshops, have samples tested at NABL-accredited labs and supervise packing. See the imitation jewellery we source, or start with a free sourcing review.