Most jewellery damage in shipping comes from movement and crushing. Hold each piece still on a card or in a fitted insert, keep pieces from touching, pack inner boxes tightly, fill every gap in the outer carton, and use cartons strong enough to be stacked. Heavy sets, bangles and pieces with many stones need the most care.
Damage often looks like a quality problem when it arrives: a loose stone, a bent hook, a cracked enamel panel. Good packing removes one cause so you can see the real ones.
Inner packing
- Mount earrings and necklaces on cards so they cannot swing or tangle.
- Put heavy necklace sets in fitted boxes with foam or card inserts.
- Bag each piece separately so stones and plated surfaces do not rub.
- Stack bangles on rods or in tubes, padded at the ends.
- Protect delicate parts such as jhumka drops or long tassels with tissue.
Outer cartons
Use double-wall or five-ply cartons for export, sized so inner boxes fit snugly. Fill empty space with padding or cut-down cardboard, never leave a gap at the top, and keep each carton within a weight that one person can lift safely. Overweight cartons are more likely to be dropped.
Tape all seams with strong tape. Place a copy of the packing list inside one carton and mark it, so the contents can be checked if the outer documents are lost.
Test before you ship
For a new product or packaging design, pack one carton as it will travel and drop it from waist height on each face and corner, then open it and check. This rough test, based on the idea behind formal transit tests, shows weak points before a whole shipment travels.
If damage still appears, look at who handles the goods. Courier hubs sort parcels by machine and they take more knocks than palletised air cargo.
Agree the rules in writing
List the packing method, carton type and maximum weight per carton in your purchase order, and agree what happens if goods arrive damaged because of poor packing. See what a jewellery purchase order should include.
Heavy bridal sets and statement necklaces need extra thought. Their weight can bend the card or crush the stones of the piece below them, so pack them in their own boxes and place them at the top of the carton. Keep light pieces such as stud earrings in separate inner boxes so they are not lost among larger items.
What this means for a buyer
Packing costs little compared with a box of broken sets and lost sales. Creston & Co works for buyers only, for a fixed fee agreed in writing. We set packing standards with Rajkot workshops, check inner and outer packing and supervise sealing. Ask for a free sourcing review.