The Reject Tray Policy That Decides a Partnership in the Valentine Program Program
A US buyer of inside the Atelier sent us a competitor's inside the Atelier in August with one question: why does this fail at prong geometry after a season. We measured it, rebuilt the spec around stone retention after a 40-cycle wear test and prong tip height within +/-0.10 mm, and shipped 300 inside the Atelier that cleared inspection with zero rejects, quoted at USD 42-235 per piece in heart gift box.
At 300 pieces the buyer was not buying a defect, they were buying a document. The Valentine Program order carried a photo and a price, and prong geometry had nowhere to live, with IGI report and heart gift box stated on the same sheet.
Our rebuild kept the buyer's retail price and changed four numbers on the bench. The next run cleared inspection because the specification traveled with the tray, not with a phone call, and at USD 42-235 for 300 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
Four Spec Lines a Valentine Program Buyer Checks
Most quotes describe the inside the Atelier and skip the part that determines the buyer's margin. Those four lines are listed below with the trade default beside our standard, which is USD 42-235 on the Valentine Program schedule.
| Spec point | Common trade output | HOLYCOME standard | Cost if missed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hallmark depth and placement | Stamped where it fits | Fixed position, depth measured so it never breaks the shank | Customs query and remaking |
| Solder flow at the joint | Not inspected | Joint inspected under 10x before setting | Crack at the seam in transit |
| Plating thickness | Nominal only | 0.20 micron rhodium logged per lot, 3 microns on vermeil | Wear-through inside one season |
| Surface porosity after polish | Seen after plating | Cast porosity checked before plating, rejects pulled at that stage | Plating blister six weeks later |
Write these four into the purchase order and the argument after delivery becomes arithmetic rather than recollection, on a 300-piece Valentine Program order at USD 42-235.
Cost Split on a Valentine Program Piece at USD 42-235
At USD 42-235 per piece for inside the Atelier, the stone is roughly a quarter and labor is where two quotes for the same drawing diverge.
| Cost line | Share | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Base metal or alloy for inside the Atelier | 32% | Alloy choice and casting yield |
| Stone or melee for inside the Atelier | 23% | Sieve range and lot batching |
| Setting and finishing labor for inside the Atelier | 21% | Jig design and bench minutes |
| Plating, polish and QC for inside the Atelier | 14% | Per-tray versus per-piece checks |
| Packaging for inside the Atelier | 10% | heart gift box |
The saving in the cheapest inside the Atelier quote hides in the plating line and the stone grade. Both appear in season two, not on arrival, priced at USD 42-235 for the 300-piece Valentine Program run.
Terms Behind a Valentine Program Order
The commercial frame is short enough to state in full. Minimum order is 50 pieces per design, and mixed designs travel in one shipment, so a 300-piece Valentine Program order can carry three or four models without a separate setup charge. Sample pieces leave in 3-5 days when the components are in stock, and a new model adds about twenty days before the first article exists, which is how the Valentine Program account reads it at USD 42-235.
Payment is 30 percent with the order and 70 percent against the bill of lading, with the balance window stated on the invoice rather than agreed by message. Prices quoted at USD 42-235 are FOB Guangzhou or Shenzhen; DDP is quoted separately because the duty line moves with the tariff schedule and not with our cost.
Packing follows the heart gift box format at 300 pieces to the carton, and the packing list carries SKU, size and stone size so receiving can count without opening every box. Private-label cartons add three days for the print run and must be approved before the first bulk order, not after it, priced at USD 42-235 for the 300-piece Valentine Program run.
Certification is IGI report for the lots that carry it, with a batch report and per-piece measurement of stone retention after a 40-cycle wear test for the lots below the threshold. The document set travels with the shipping papers, which is what a customs broker asks for at the port rather than after clearance, on a 300-piece Valentine Program order at USD 42-235.
A rejected tray is settled inside the same order cycle against the retained reference piece. If the difference sits on our retained sample we replace or credit; if it appeared in transit we split the assay cost and file with the carrier, and that rule is written on the order before the deposit clears, certified IGI report and packed heart gift box at 300 pieces.
Three Failures That Reach the Valentine Program Bench
prong geometry
A prong that grips the girdle instead of the pavilion survives the showroom and fails the third ultrasonic clean. The seat has to be cut to the pavilion angle before the prongs close, and the Valentine Program quote for it sits at USD 42-235.
Our countermeasure is a gauge and a written limit. It adds about 22 seconds per piece and removes the defect from the run rather than from the carton, which is how the Valentine Program account reads it at USD 42-235.
rhodium burn-off
A 0.05 micron rhodium layer reads white in the tray and shows yellow at the shank in six months of daily wear. Thickness, not bath chemistry, is the variable that matters, on a 300-piece Valentine Program order at USD 42-235.
In a 300-piece run this typically shows on 17 of pieces. Catching it means measuring stone retention after a 40-cycle wear test at the tray level, not inspecting the finished carton, and the Valentine Program quote for it sits at USD 42-235.
size-step drift
A run gauged at size 6 and estimated elsewhere ships a size 8 that measures 7.75. The mismatch shows up as a resize queue two weeks after launch, the figure being USD 42-235 for a 300-piece run.
The commercial effect is a return shipment plus a resize labor claim, typically USD 9-14 per piece. Buyers who have seen it once put it in the purchase order; buyers who have not usually discover it on the first return, with IGI report and heart gift box stated on the same sheet.
The Reject Tray Policy That Decides a Partnership
Every year we see the same omission in inside the Atelier spec sheets, and every year it costs a buyer a season, on a 300-piece Valentine Program order at USD 42-235.
At 300 pieces the arithmetic on inside the Atelier changes: the fixed costs spread, the variable costs do not. That is why the second order prices better than the first even when the gold fix has moved up, certified IGI report and packed heart gift box at 300 pieces.
We quote both a first-run price and a reorder price for inside the Atelier on the same sheet so the buyer can see where the curve flattens. Most flatten by the third run, on a 300-piece Valentine Program order at USD 42-235.
What the Quote Actually Covers
The number is less interesting than the rule behind it, and inside the Atelier is where that rule gets tested, and 300 pieces leaves Wuzhou in heart gift box at USD 42-235.
One practical note on timing for inside the Atelier: the calendar starts when the spec is signed, not when the deposit clears. A buyer who signs in week one and pays in week three gets the goods in week five, the figure being USD 42-235 for a 300-piece run.
We date the inside the Atelier proforma from signature for that reason, and we state the deposit deadline in the same email that carries the spec sheet, and at USD 42-235 for 300 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
Valentine Window for inside the Atelier
The Valentine window is short and unforgiving: stock has to be in the warehouse by the last week of January or the season is gone. That puts the production order in the second week of December, ahead of the Lunar New Year slowdown, and at USD 42-235 for 300 pieces that is the number the buyer signs.
Paired designs move better than single pieces here. A matching pair of inside the Atelier, boxed together with two cards, converts at the same retail price as two singles and costs about nine percent more to make, which is USD 42-235 on the Valentine Program schedule.
Photography has to be red-and-white neutral. A inside the Atelier shot on a red silk background reads as a gift in a listing thumbnail, and that is the only image most buyers will ever see, certified IGI report and packed heart gift box at 300 pieces.
The Calendar Behind a Valentine Program Run
For heart gift box at 300 pieces, the sequence is fixed and the dates are the only thing that moves, the figure being USD 42-235 for a 300-piece run.
- Lock the spec: metal, stone size range, plating thickness, sizing band and finish, all written on one sheet.
- Pull a stock-component sample in 3-5 days and measure it against that sheet, not against the photo.
- Approve the sample in writing, including the reject rule and the retained reference tray.
- Run bulk in 15-20 days for orders under 500 pieces, with the gauge check independent of the shift.
- Ship from Guangzhou or Shenzhen with the QC sheet in the carton and the batch report by email.
MOQ stays at 50 pieces per design on inside the Atelier, low enough to test a shelf and high enough to keep the gauge check independent, and 300 pieces leaves Wuzhou in heart gift box at USD 42-235.
The First Valentine Program Order
The point of a small first run is not the margin. It is finding out whether the supplier's paperwork survives contact with the actual goods, certified IGI report and packed heart gift box at 300 pieces, certified IGI report and packed heart gift box at 300 pieces.
The first order is the cheapest inspection a buyer will ever run, because the volume is small enough to check every tray by hand, the figure being USD 42-235 for a 300-piece run.
Getting heart gift box to the US market
Export runs through Guangzhou or Shenzhen. For Valentine Program orders the IGI report file travels with the shipping documents, not separately, priced at USD 42-235 for the 300-piece Valentine Program run.
The clearance term matters more than the rate at 300 pieces. A duty surprise can cost more than the whole freight line, and the Valentine Program quote for it sits at USD 42-235.
The arrival check is three steps: count cartons against the packing list, weigh a sample tray, and measure ten pieces against stone retention after a 40-cycle wear test and prong tip height within +/-0.10 mm, quoted at USD 42-235 per piece in heart gift box.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the payment terms?
30 percent deposit with the order, 70 percent against the bill of lading. For accounts on a second order we quote 30/70 with a 15-day balance window once the first shipment has cleared, shipped as heart gift box and certified IGI report.
What is the minimum order for inside the Atelier?
50 pieces per inside the Atelier. Designs mix inside one shipment, so a first order of three designs at 50 pieces each is normal for a new US account. Below 50 the gauge check stops being independent of the shift, which the Valentine Program file records at USD 42-235 in heart gift box.
Do you supply certificates for inside the Atelier?
IGI report on inside the Atelier above the threshold stated on the quote. Below it we supply a batch report plus per-piece measurement of stone retention after a 40-cycle wear test, which is what a counter or a listing actually needs, and the Valentine Program quote for it sits at USD 42-235.
How do you handle a rejected tray?
We replace or credit inside the same order cycle. The retained reference tray decides: if prong geometry shows on our retained piece we own it, and if it appeared in transit we split the assay cost and file with the carrier, shipped as heart gift box and certified IGI report.
What are the payment terms?
30 percent deposit with the order, 70 percent against the bill of lading. For accounts on a second order we quote 30/70 with a 15-day balance window once the first shipment has cleared, shipped as heart gift box and certified IGI report.
Next Step
If the USD 42-235 band fits your shelf, send the drawing and we will quote the 300-piece Valentine Program run inside one business day.
HOLYCOME runs this line from Wuzhou, Guangxi, through Wuzhou HengliLai Jewelry Co., Ltd. Output is about 60,000 pieces a month across inside the Atelier and adjacent categories. service@holycome.com or WhatsApp +86 18078079070, which the Valentine Program file records at USD 42-235 in heart gift box.
Related reading: Inside the Atelier Made to Order: What the Quote Actually Covers - HOLYCOME Stones & Materials Trade Show Sample: The Sample Approval That Survives Production - HOLYCOME
