What founders need to understand before approving a PO
It’s one of the most frustrating moments in jewelry manufacturing:
The sample looks perfect.
The production arrives… and something’s wrong.
Plating wears faster than expected.
Stones loosen.
Finishing feels inconsistent.
Hardware fails sooner than it should.
This isn’t bad luck—and it usually isn’t fraud.
It’s the gap between hand-finished samples and scaled production reality.
Hand-Finished Samples vs Scaled Production Reality
Most jewelry samples are not produced the same way as bulk orders.
During sampling, factories often:
- Assign their most skilled technicians
- Spend extra time on polishing and finishing
- Hand-adjust stone settings
- Rework parts until they look right
This is normal. Samples are meant to win approval.
But once production scales, priorities change:
- Speed matters more than perfection
- Labor is distributed across more workers
- Manual steps are reduced or simplified
- Tolerances widen to hit timelines and cost targets
The result: the design is the same, but the execution isn’t.
Where Factories Quietly Change the Process
Most production failures don’t come from obvious changes. They come from small, undocumented shifts that compound at scale.
Common examples:
- Thinner plating than the sample received
- Fewer polishing passes
- Shared prongs instead of individual stone setting
- Jump rings left unsoldered to save time
- Substituted hardware from available inventory
- Shortened cure times for coatings or adhesives
None of these changes are usually flagged as “issues” internally.
They’re seen as reasonable production adjustments, unless someone is actively enforcing standards.
Why QC Slips Between Sample and Bulk
Founders often assume quality control is a single, consistent system. In reality, QC changes depending on production phase.
During sampling:
- Visual inspection dominates
- Small batch = high attention
- Senior staff involvement
During bulk production:
- Spot checks replace full inspection
- Junior QC staff take over
- Focus shifts to quantity, not edge cases
- Defects are tolerated if they fall within “acceptable” ranges
If quality standards aren’t clearly defined and documented, QC teams will default to factory norms, not founder expectations.
The Dangerous Assumption: “Approved Sample = Approved Process”
This is where many jewelry brands get caught.
Approving a sample approves the outcome, not the process.
If you haven’t locked:
- Plating thickness targets
- Stone-setting method by SKU
- Hardware specifications
- Finishing standards
- Acceptable defect thresholds
Then the factory is free to interpret how to get there.
That interpretation is where quality drifts.
How to Lock Standards Before You Issue a PO
This is the critical window where experienced oversight matters most.
Before approving production, founders should ensure:
- The sample build method is documented
- Any hand-finished steps are identified
- Production-equivalent samples are reviewed (not just showroom samples)
- QC criteria are written, not implied
- Testing requirements are agreed upon in advance
- “No substitution” rules are clearly stated
Most importantly:
Someone needs to confirm that what worked at sample scale is viable at production scale, or adjust the process before it breaks.
The Founder Reality Check
Most jewelry production failures aren’t surprises to the factory.
They’re surprises to the founder.
Not because the founder missed something obvious, but because no one explained where samples stop being representative of bulk reality.
That gap is where returns, reworks, and margin erosion begin.
Where Experienced Oversight Matters Most
This transition, from sample to production, is the most fragile point in jewelry manufacturing.
It’s also where hands-on experience makes the biggest difference:
- Knowing which steps can’t be scaled safely
- Catching quiet process changes before they ship
- Translating visual standards into production rules
- Holding factories accountable to documented specs
This is where experienced oversight matters most.
If you’re approving production and relying on the sample alone, you’re trusting the riskiest assumption in jewelry manufacturing.
