Rajkot is usually the most competitive choice for brass and copper-based jewellery in Indian, bridal and fusion styles, ordered in mid-size runs of a few hundred to a few thousand pieces per design. China tends to win on very large runs of simple zinc alloy or stainless steel pieces, Thailand on sterling silver and Western fashion designs, and Mumbai on design-led, premium and fast-turnaround work for the domestic and diaspora market.
A straight price comparison per piece is misleading, because the same necklace can be made with a different base metal, plating thickness and stone grade in each place. Compare like with like, then compare what you actually pay to land the goods.
What drives the price in each place
- Base metal: Rajkot works mostly in brass and copper, which cost more than zinc alloy but cast and plate better. Many Chinese fashion pieces use zinc alloy, which is cheaper per gram.
- Labour content: Indian styles such as kundan, meenakari and temple work need hand setting and hand finishing. Rajkot and Mumbai have deep pools of these skills, which keeps the cost of handwork lower than in most other countries.
- Plating: a piece with a thick gold or rhodium layer and an anti-tarnish coating costs noticeably more than a flash-plated one. Always state the plating you want before comparing quotes.
- Stones: machine-cut CZ, glass and acrylic stones vary widely in price and brilliance. A low quote often hides a lower stone grade.
- Scale: Chinese factories are built for very high volumes of one design. Rajkot units are smaller and are more comfortable with many designs in moderate quantities.
Rajkot and Mumbai
Mumbai is a large trading and design centre, and a good share of the jewellery sold through Mumbai wholesalers is actually made in Rajkot or other manufacturing towns. Buying in Mumbai can be convenient for a small mixed order, but you often pay a trader's margin on top of the maker's price.
Buying in Rajkot puts you closer to the workshops. You can see the casting, plating and stone setting, agree the specification directly and usually get a lower price for the same piece, at the cost of having to vet more suppliers yourself.
Beyond the unit price
Landed cost decides the comparison. Import duty on imitation jewellery differs by origin and by destination, and trade agreements or tariffs can move the numbers year to year. Freight from India is usually by air or courier for jewellery, so weight and packing matter as much as the factory price.
Quality consistency, return rates and compliance testing also belong in the sum. A cheaper piece that fails a nickel or lead test, or that tarnishes in a month and comes back from customers, is not cheaper.
What this means for a buyer
Choose Rajkot when your range is Indian, bridal or fusion, when you want brass or copper bases, and when you need many designs in moderate quantities. Ask each source to quote the same written specification and compare landed cost per piece, not the headline price.
Creston & Co works for buyers only, for a fixed fee agreed in writing. We collect like-for-like quotes from Rajkot workshops, check plating and finish on samples and supervise packing. Start with a free sourcing review.