Fashion Jewellery: Three Earrings, Three Codes, One Chemistry Test

Updated: 5 Oct 2026

Here's a real pattern from US shipping records, and it isn't the one most buyers expect. When we counted who ships India's imitation jewellery to the US by sea, the largest named exporter wasn't in Jaipur or Mumbai. It was in south Gujarat, around Valsad, Vapi and Silvassa, with 157 bills since 2015 and 28 in the last year. Two of the top ten were in Noida, one in Kota. And the whole pool is small: about 8 named Indian exporters shipped this heading to the US in an average month from March to August 2026 (our count of ImportYeti pages, 23 September 2026).

So the famous bazaars are where you browse, and a handful of factories are where volume is made. This page is for the buyer who's past browsing. It covers how to specify a piece, the classification trap between "silver" and "silver-coloured", and the one test plan that matters. If you're not sure you're in fashion jewellery rather than fine jewellery or stones, start with gems and jewellery, which also explains why cadmium is a design choice, not an accident.

SourcingFrom Intelligence

India's US imitation-jewellery exports run through a small pool of factories, not the bazaars. About 8 named exporters a month, the largest in south Gujarat. Two-thirds of bills load at Nhava Sheva. (Our count of ImportYeti pages · Verified counts)
Silver and plated base metal are different goods at the border. Silver jewellery is 7113.11 even when gold-plated. Base-metal jewellery is 7117 even when plated with gold or silver. In the UK the third-country duty is 2% and 4%, and 0% for both with Indian origin proof. (UK Trade Tariff, read 5 Oct 2026)
Heavy metals are the failure that stops Indian jewellery at the EU and UK borders. Cadmium in 7 of 11 EU jewellery alerts, and 10 UK cases of cadmium, lead or nickel in jewellery or metalware. (Our pull of Safety Gate and OPSS)

What we don't know yet

Plating thickness and pass rates that Indian costume exporters actually achieve. Nobody publishes them.
Where the south Gujarat and Noida factories buy their alloy.

Three Earrings

Picture three pairs of earrings on one supplier's table, identical in design and colour.

Pair one is sterling silver, gold-plated. It's silver jewellery. It goes under 7113.11, "of silver, whether or not plated or clad with other precious metal". Your buyer will ask for purity, and a "925" stamp is the seller's claim, so assay it.

Pair two is brass, gold-plated. It's imitation jewellery, 7117.19, base metal whether or not plated. It needs a plating spec and a chemistry test, and it's the one most online sellers actually buy.

Pair three is glass beads on cotton thread with a lac finish. It's imitation jewellery too, but 7117.90, "other". It needs a check on dyes and on any metal findings.

One design, three lines, three test plans. A fourth case to watch is base metal clad with a real layer of gold or silver, which is a precious-metal product under 7113.20, not plated imitation. The line between cladding and plating is technical, so get your broker's ruling on anything that isn't obviously one or the other.

The Specification

Write these into the order for every design:

Base metal by name. Brass, copper, zinc alloy, or "white metal", which is a vague term you should replace with the actual alloy. Ask for a written statement that it contains no cadmium or lead above your market's limit. A US diaspora buyer we found in our forum logs asked sellers for oxidised pieces with "no brass or copper" (r/IndianFashionAddicts, March 2024 (opens in a new tab)), which shows how much buyers already care what's under the colour.
Plating. Metal, colour and thickness in microns, and whether there's a nickel underlayer. Thin plating looks the same on day one and wears through in weeks.
Finish. Oxidised, antique, polished or lacquered. Oxidising is a chemical darkening, so ask what was used.
Stones and beads. Glass, acrylic, cubic zirconia or natural stone, and how they're set. Glued stones fall out. Claw-set ones fall out if the claws are thin.
Findings. Ear wires, clasps and jump rings are often bought in from another supplier. Name their metal separately, because skin-contact parts are what nickel tests look at.

Settle all of it on the sample with our sample evaluation checklist.

The Test

One plan covers most markets. Screen every metal part with XRF and confirm anything doubtful with a lab method. Test cadmium and lead in the metal, nickel release on skin-contact parts, and lead in any paint or coating. If you sell children's jewellery in the US, the limit is 100 ppm total lead in accessible parts, with a Children's Product Certificate from an accepted lab (US CPSC (opens in a new tab)). Your lab will hold the current EU and UK numbers. Test production pieces, and test again if the factory changes alloy supplier.

At the Border

In the UK, 7117 pays 4% from outside, and 7113.11 pays 2%, both 0% with Indian origin proof under the trade agreement. Chapter 71 lost the UK's developing-country preference for India from 2026, so the agreement's proof of origin is the only route to 0%. More on UK duty on Indian jewellery. EU and US positions are on the industry page.

Back to South Gujarat

The biggest US shipper of Indian imitation jewellery sits far from the bazaars that tourists know, and that's useful. It means the product you sell is made in a factory with an alloy supplier, a plating line and a quality manager you can talk to. Ask them the three earrings questions, write the answers into the order, and test. For what else to source from India, see what to source from India. If you'd like someone to visit the factory and pull pieces for XRF before payment, SourcingSync (opens in a new tab) does that.