Gold Plated Jewelry Making Business

5 Gold Plated Jewelry Making Business Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

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Updated: October 7th, 2024

Creating gold plated jewelry is an intriguing business idea that blends creativity with commerce. Gold plated jewelry involves crafting pieces that have a thin layer of gold, making them affordable yet visually appealing.

Starting this business means you’ll design or source jewelry and apply a gold plating technique to enhance its value. This process can be done in a home workshop using basic electroplating equipment. The result is elegant pieces that cater to budget-conscious customers who love the look of gold.

With its relatively low start-up costs and high demand for stylish accessories, gold plated jewelry-making can be a profitable venture. Sourcing unique designs and using high-quality base metals can set your products apart. If you have an eye for design and a knack for marketing, this might just be the niche to explore.

In this list, you'll find real-world gold plated jewelry making business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a gold plated jewelry making business that makes money.

1. Merci Maman ($4.8M/year)

Arnaud de Montille and his wife Beatrice founded Merci Maman in 2007 after Beatrice struggled to find quality personalized jewelry at affordable prices for their daughter's first birthday. Since then, the company has grown significantly, and their signature "Duchess Necklace" worn by Kate Middleton in 2014 has become a best-seller. Today, Merci Maman generates over $5 million in annual sales, ships 75,000 orders globally, and continues to expand its product offering and improve its customer experience.

How much money it makes: $4.8M/year
How much did it cost to start: $7.5K
How many people on the team: 42

How We Started A $400K/Month Personalized Hand-Engraved Jewelry Business

Merci Maman is a personalized jewelry brand founded in 2007 by Arnaud and Béatrice de Montille, generating over $5m in sales annually with flagship product 'Duchess Necklace' still a best-seller, shipping 75k orders a year worldwide with profits completely reinvested back into the business.

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2. Taylor & Hart ($4.62M/year)

Nikolay Piriankov, the founder of Taylor & Hart, had a personal frustration when searching for an ethically sourced engagement ring online. Teamed up with his friend David Sutton, who had experience in the wholesale diamond trade, they decided to create Rare Pink (now Taylor & Hart) in 2013 to offer bespoke and affordable engagement rings. Their first customer, Piers, requested a custom-designed ring, and the impact of this experience led them to focus on custom designs and storytelling in their brand evolution.

How much money it makes: $4.62M/year
How many people on the team: 27

Starting And Growing A Jewelry Business To $4.6M/Year

Taylor & Hart CEO Nikolay Piriankov tells the story of the company's journey from a diamond trading business to an award-winning, disruptive e-tailer of custom-designed, ethical engagement rings and fine jewelry, offering a bespoke design service through specifically developed technology online and instore, and growing to £4-6M in annual revenue.

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3. Pearls of Joy ($2.4M/year)

Kevin Canning, founder of Pearls of Joy, came up with the idea for his business by recognizing the high markups in the jewelry industry, particularly with pearls. By sourcing pearls internationally and selling them directly to consumers online, Canning was able to offer high-quality pearls at a fraction of the typical retail price. Through transparency and education, he built trust and authority in the industry, resulting in the rapid growth of his business, with 150% growth year-to-date and projected revenue of $2.5M for 2018.

How much money it makes: $2.4M/year
How many people on the team: 4

Pearls of Joy: Starting The World’s Fastest Growing Pearl Jewelry Company

Kevin Canning, founder of Pearls of Joy, established the world's fastest-growing pearl jewelry company by sourcing top-grade pearls for 80% below traditional luxury retail, enabling the company to trend at around 150% growth while expecting to close 2018 with $2.5M in revenue.

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4. Shenzhen Shibao Jewelry Co., Ltd ($1.2M/year)

Long Shuai, the founder of Silverbene, came up with the idea for his jewelry wholesale business after realizing the inefficiencies in the production processes of silver jewelry factories in China. He saw an opportunity to use information technology to standardize the manufacturing process and improve efficiency. With a revenue of $450K per month and over 3,500 jewelry store clients worldwide, Silverbene is now a successful business in the industry.

How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $200K
How many people on the team: 10

How We Started A $100K/Month Jewelry Wholesale Business

Silverbene, a silver jewelry design and manufacturing company, supplies over 3,500 jewelry stores worldwide, sending out over 90,000 items per month with a revenue of $450K USD per month, using information technology to standardize the production process and paying attention to international fashion trends while designing products.

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5. Vivalatina Jewelry ($200K/year)

Nicolas Tranchant, founder of Vivalatina Jewelry, started the business out of love and necessity. He and his wife needed additional cash flow, so they decided to create an online jewelry shop in 2009. Despite lacking knowledge in marketing and sales, Nicolas persevered and shifted the business model to focus on custom-made jewelry and his own designs. With a strong emphasis on SEO, Vivalatina Jewelry has since attracted over 60,000 monthly visitors and generated $160,000 in revenue in 2020.

How much money it makes: $200K/year
How much did it cost to start: $3K
How many people on the team: 4

How I Started A $14K/Month Custom-Made Jewelry Business

French founder Nicolas Tranchant shares how he built Vivalatina Jewelry, an online jewelry business that generates $14k in monthly revenue using SEO as the main marketing strategy, with a focus on high-end, custom-made gold jewelry.

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