Plan jewellery orders from India around two calendars: your own selling seasons and India's festival and wedding seasons, when Rajkot workshops are busiest with domestic orders. The simple rule is to order for your peak several months ahead and to place as much as possible outside India's own rush in the weeks before Diwali.
A rough calendar for the year helps you spread development, sampling and production so nothing lands in the busiest weeks.
The two calendars that matter
- Your selling peaks: for most Western retailers, Christmas and gifting from November; Valentine's Day and Mother's Day in spring; summer and wedding season for some ranges.
- Diaspora and Gulf peaks: Diwali in October or November, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha (dates move each year), wedding seasons, and Navratri.
- India's workshop rush: roughly the two to three months before Diwali, plus the main wedding months, when domestic demand fills capacity and plating queues.
A sample calendar for a Western retailer
- January to February: review last season's sellers, brief new designs, request samples.
- March to April: approve samples, place orders for spring and summer replenishment, test new designs with small orders.
- May to June: place Christmas and gifting orders while workshops are quieter.
- July to August: production, inspection and shipping of Christmas stock; sea freight still fits.
- September to October: only repeats and air freight top-ups; expect slower service as Diwali approaches.
- November to December: sell; collect data on what sold; plan the next brief.
Adjusting for your market
Diaspora and Gulf buyers selling for Diwali or Eid compete directly with domestic demand for the same workshops, so they need to order earliest of all. Online sellers with fast-moving ranges can keep smaller, more frequent repeat orders running all year and use air freight in peaks.
Rajkot workshops also slow around their own festivals and the days after Diwali, when many workers travel home. Allow for that in any order due in late autumn.
What this means for a buyer
Write your calendar down and share it with your makers, so they can plan metal, stones and capacity. For a specific festival date, see how much lead time to allow before Diwali, Eid or Christmas. Creston & Co works for buyers only, for a fixed fee agreed in writing. We plan orders with Rajkot makers against your calendar and follow them to dispatch. Ask for a free sourcing review.