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Thread: sizing rings for selling and keeping in stock ready for sale - best practice?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
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    Question sizing rings for selling and keeping in stock ready for sale - best practice?

    Hello everyone
    This is my first post and I'm happy to see what a helpful forum this is, I have already found lots of information from the posts here, everyone is very helpful and generous with their knowledge!
    I hope someone can offer a quick answer for me - I have done a search but not quite found an answer to solve my question, so apologies if this question has been posed before.
    I am in the process of making some items that I might like to try and sell and one of the things bugging me is ring size. I want to make some rings in advance so that I can size them accordingly for the customer (and then add the necessary embeleshment) but I'm not sure of the best / most efficient way to go about it. Should I make a blank for each size or just send off strips for hallmarking and then size to order? Also if I use laser hallmarking will the hallmark degrade when I form the ring from the strip? Are there common or regular sizes that seem more popular than others? What do you all do as regards to keeping items in stock such as rings? Also, do you think items made to order put people off buying in this "i want it tomorrow" type of shopping culture that's associated with online selling.
    Sorry for a spitfire of questions! any thoughts are much appreciated with thanks
    Rebecca

  2. #2
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    Jun 2010
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    I make to order, and hallmark after I've made (as I'm always adding settings for unique stones etc afterward. As I understand it the assay office have to have all the elements of the piece for hallmarking, and I never know what they'll be until I get the orger (if that makes sense).
    If I'm making stock for an event, I make a range of sizes. I've found M-P the most common, but always get several people delighted to find rings in small (J-L) and larger (R-V) sizes, there doesn't seem to be a hard and fast rule for me, but because I don't tend to make the same piece twice, I'm probably a rubbish example. IF I had to put money on a size, I'd say M.
    ETA: I have a 4 week turnaround on custom peices, and most people are fine with that, obv. I can do quicker if it is vital, but prefer to under promise and over-deliver - or give the customer a pleasant surprise!

  3. #3
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    Mar 2014
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    Thanks Lydia, that's really helpful. I like the "underpromise and over deliver " attitude too. How long is the turnaround for hallmarking (on average) in your experience?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
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    Hi Rebecca,

    I do the same as Lydia, make to order and then hallmark, so time to delivery is not going to suit everyone, especially not the ones who want it tomorrow. Some rings I do are lighter than the hallmarking legal limit so I don't hallmark them unless the customer wants that.

    I find that I make a lot of larger sizes too. I think it might depend on what kind of rings you make. Engagement/wedding rings are probably more common to be smaller sizes (with a large proportion of customers being quite young), but other rings that people buy at any point in life, and that might be worn on the other fingers as well (e.g. I make chunkier rings with medium to large sized cabs), I tend to sell more of the larger sizes. I think fingers get slightly larger with age and a lot of ladies have quite chunky fingers! I regularly get people delighted that I have larger rings in stock now and then.

    It is a dilemma for most people. I can't really afford to keep stock of every size in all the shanks I offer so I go down the make it to order route and that works for me. I think you have to decide what you want to offer, ready made quick delivery items or made to measure.

    You can get your stuff hallmarked and back in a couple of days if you pay for express postage.

    Carin
    Carin Lindberg

    Camali Design
    www.camalidesign.com

  5. #5
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    Aug 2009
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    Staffordshire
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    I find that the majority of rings are sizes M-P like Lydia, I would agree that I always get asked for smaller and larger rings, though most often it is larger rather than smaller. A lot of my rings are one offs and therefore I tend to make them in the most common size range, I do also have some repeated designs, for these I have a range of samples in a range of sizes, but these are made to order, I state 4-6weeks and discuss requirements and agreed delivery timeframe with the customer.

  6. #6
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    Sep 2014
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    My market is slightly different to yours ( almost all equine) but I get a lot of orders for larger rings from T to V and I think its partly because they are for wearing on middle fingers /right hand rather than ring finger left hand.
    I find engagement rings are generally smaller although have had some of those in large sizes too.
    Have also made thumb rings and rings for little fingers so a massive range!
    I keep the shanks in and hallmarked all at the longer length in silver but thats partly because hallmarking takes longer for me as I have to post from France and then have them posted to a friend who send on to me as the Birmingham office won't mail abroad - not sure if any of the others do, I should probably find out actually.
    If I have to add metal then I use plain shanks and send afterwards or don't bother if they are under the weight.
    Gold I always order in then send for hallmarking afterwards and they forward direct to customers which usually takes about 4-5 days from receipt so not too bad.
    My turnaround is 4 weeks anyway though and my customers have all been happy with that.

  7. #7
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    Jul 2009
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    Romsey
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    Quote Originally Posted by enigma View Post
    My market is slightly different to yours ( almost all equine) but I get a lot of orders for larger rings from T to V and I think its partly because they are for wearing on middle fingers /right hand rather than ring finger left hand.
    Pah. Mucking out & working with horses knackers your hands would be my guess! Certainly none of the people I know who are hands-on with their horses tend to have dainty knuckles. Those who have full livery, different matter.

  8. #8
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    Sep 2014
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    Haha! you should see my hands Peter! they are shocking! But my ring finger is still a N

  9. #9
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    Mar 2014
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    Thanks for the insight! I think I'm going to go down the make then hallmark route, with perhaps a couple of finished rings in stock. I myself have big fingers ( great for pastry making and hammering metal but not very dainty!) so it's good to know people are pleased to see larger size rings and that they are more commonly asked for than the smaller sizes. Also good to know that assay might only take a few days. Thanks everyone, I feel a bit clearer now about how to organise things - I think the made to order is a good method, balanced out with other items that are ready to ship.
    thanks, I appreciate the help - Oh and I love seeing all of your work - very inspiring and wonderfully varied.
    Rebecca

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
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    Rebecca - Aparently the most common size ring (in the UK at least) is size 'M'. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this but it does seem to be an average size looking at 'average' woman (average as in hands mind you). I also have 'R' as an avarage for men but I do not know where I got that from.

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