A accessories retailer in Berlin had a cardboard box under her counter labelled "broken." Inside: 140 pieces from the last two seasons — a loose stone here, a worn chain clasp there, a ring someone sized wrong. She had written them off at roughly EUR 1,800 in wholesale cost. A bulk jewelry repair service turned 118 of those 140 pieces back into sellable inventory for about EUR 220 in labour. For wholesalers and boutiques, RMA repair is not a cost centre; it is a margin recovery line most buyers forget to price in.
What actually goes wrong in the field
When we analyse returned jewelry across our wholesale customers, the damage profile is predictable.
| Failure mode | Share of returns | Repairable? |
|---|---|---|
| Loose / lost stone | 32% | Yes, re-seat or replace |
| Worn plating / yellowing | 24% | Yes, re-plate to 0.5 µm |
| Bent prong / snagged tip | 14% | Yes, re-tip and re-polish |
| Broken chain / clasp | 12% | Usually yes, solder or replace clasp |
| Wrong ring size | 10% | Yes, re-size within range |
| Cracked shank / severe damage | 8% | No, recycle metal |
Roughly 92% of field-failed pieces are repairable. The 8% that are not can be returned as scrap metal, recovering 60–80% of the metal value.
How a bulk RMA repair program works
Step 1 — intake and triage
You send the parcel with an RMA sheet: SKU, quantity, reported fault, customer photo. We triage every piece within 3 working days and return a repair quote per line. You approve before any work starts.
Step 2 — repair by bench
Loose stones are re-seated with fresh prongs and pull-tested at 1.5 kg. Worn plating is stripped, re-polished and re-plated to 0.5 µm rhodium. Bent prongs are re-tipped in matching alloy. Chains are soldered or clasp-replaced. Ring sizing is done within the +/- 2 size range the shank will tolerate.
Step 3 — QC and return shipping
Every repaired piece passes the same final inspection as new production: 10x loupe, caliper check on sized rings, pull test on re-seated stones. Pieces are re-bagged and returned in your carton, segregated from new stock.
What it costs and what it saves
Typical repair labour, in our program, runs USD 2–6 per piece for prong re-seating and plating refreshes, and USD 5–10 for ring sizing or clasp replacement. Compare that to writing off a piece you paid USD 8–20 wholesale for, and which would have retailed at USD 40–120. The math closes very fast.
We also honour a 30-day defect RMA on pieces that fail within our warranty — those are repaired or re-made at no cost to you. The bulk repair program covers everything outside that window, including customer-inflicted damage you choose to service for your own clients.
Use the repair program by store type
Boutiques with a walk-in counter: run a monthly repair batch. Collect customer-failed pieces for 30 days, send one parcel, get a refurbished batch back. Your customers see a service most online sellers cannot offer.
DTC brands with returns: route every return through us before restocking. Roughly 70–80% of returned pieces can be refurbished to grade-A condition and sold again, instead of being written off.
Wholesalers with sub-accounts: offer repair as a paid value-add to your smaller retail customers. You aggregate their batches and price the repair at a markup; it becomes a recurring margin line.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum batch for bulk jewelry repair?
We accept repair batches from 20 pieces upwards. Under 20 pieces, the intake and triage labour is hard to amortise; we recommend waiting until you have a fuller box.
How long does a repair batch take?
Triage takes 3 working days. Once you approve the quote, repair and QC take 7–12 working days, depending on mix. Most customers receive refurbished stock inside 3 weeks from sending the parcel.
Do you repair pieces from other factories?
Yes. We repair any sterling silver, 10k/14k gold or platinum piece. For moissanite we replace stones from our own GRA stock; for diamond we ask you to supply the stone or approve a consignment.
What happens to pieces you cannot repair?
We quote them as scrap. We return the unrepairable piece or buy back the metal value at the current spot rate, deducted from your repair invoice.
Is repair work covered by a warranty?
Yes. Every repaired piece carries a 90-day warranty on the repair itself. If a prong re-seat fails within 90 days, we re-do it at no charge.
Key takeaways
- ~92% of returned jewelry is repairable; only 8% is scrap.
- Bulk repair labour runs USD 2–10 per piece — a fraction of wholesale cost.
- Defects within our 30-day warranty are repaired or re-made free.
- Offer repair as a paid service to your own retail customers for recurring margin.
Next step: request a repair RMA sheet. Send your first 20-piece batch; triage quote returned within 3 working days.
Read more: QC checklist, OEM manufacturing, jewelry care guides, and all manufacturing articles.
Rhodium plating, which gives white gold jewellery its bright finish, is covered in the Wikipedia article on rhodium.
