Before you pay a deposit to a Chinese jewelry supplier, do five things: look the company up in China’s official company register and make sure the company on your invoice, the name on the bank account and the registered company are the same; ask for a live video call from the workshop at short notice; pay for a sample and judge the real piece; have the finished order inspected before you pay the balance; and pay in stages, never into a personal account. Each check on its own can be faked. All five together are very hard to fake.
The five checks at a glance
| Check | What it shows | What it does not show |
|---|---|---|
| Company register | The company exists, is active, and what it may do | That it owns a workshop or makes your order |
| Live video from the workshop | There is a workshop, and they will show it | That your pieces will be made there |
| A paid sample | They can make your design to your standard | That the production order will match it |
| Inspection before shipping | This order matches the approved sample | Silver content — that needs a lab test |
| Staged payment to the invoiced name | Your money goes to the company you checked | Anything about quality on its own |
1. Check the business registration
China’s company register is public. The National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, at gsxt.gov.cn, is run by the State Administration for Market Regulation, the authority that registers companies. It is in Chinese, and you search by the company’s legal Chinese name — an English trading name is usually not what is registered. The result shows whether the company still exists or has been revoked or deregistered, with its registered details.
- Ask for the legal Chinese name and the unified social credit code on the business licence (营业执照), and search the register. A browser translation tool is enough to read it.
- Read the business scope (经营范围). Making or processing jewelry points to a manufacturer; wholesale, retail or import and export only points to a trading company.
- Compare the registered address with the building you see on video. If they differ, ask why.
Then make the comparison that matters most: the company on your proforma invoice = the name on the bank account you are asked to pay = the company in the register. Many Chinese exporters invoice through a Hong Kong company. That is common, but then the Hong Kong company must be on both the invoice and the bank account; you can look it up through the Hong Kong Companies Registry’s e-Search service. Ask how it is related to the workshop.
2. Ask for a live video call from the workshop
Ask at short notice, and ask the person to walk through the workshop rather than sit at a desk. Ask to see:
- casting — wax or 3D-printed models, casting equipment — and bench work: setting, soldering, polishing;
- how the 925 mark and a logo are stamped;
- plating, or, if it is sent out, who does it and how it is checked;
- work in progress at different stages, not only finished stock;
- a sheet of paper with today’s date and your company name, held up in the workshop, so you know the call is live;
- the entrance or sign, to compare with the registered address.
A supplier who keeps postponing, or whose camera never leaves a showroom, is telling you something. A call cannot prove your order will be made there — which is why the sample and the inspection matter.
3. Order a sample first
A sample is the only way to check the size, weight, finish and stamp of your piece before a production run. Weigh it, measure it, wear it, and keep it — or its photos and measurements — as the standard the order must match. If silver content matters to your market, have it tested (how to test 925 silver). Costs and timing are in our guide to jewelry samples.
A good sample does not guarantee a good order. A complaint that comes up again and again on jewelers’ forums is that the first order was fine and later ones got worse.
4. Inspect the order before it ships
A pre-shipment inspection is done at the factory by an independent inspection company, or your own staff, once the order is finished and packed and before you pay the balance. You choose and pay the inspector; that is what keeps them on your side. A typical inspection covers quantities per design, size and colour; a random selection of pieces checked against the approved sample for shape, measurements, weight, stones, stamp and finish; faults such as loose stones, porous castings or weak clasps; packaging and labels; and a photo report before you release payment.
Agree the sampling level and which faults are critical beforehand. An inspector cannot see silver content; for that, send pieces from the order to a laboratory.
5. Pay in a way that limits your risk
- Pay a deposit only after you have approved the sample, and the balance only after the inspection or your approval of photos of the finished order.
- Pay only the company named on the invoice — never a personal account.
- If bank details change, confirm them through a channel you already had, not by replying to the message that brought the new details. Invoice fraud targets exactly this moment.
- If you rely on a marketplace’s payment protection, read its dispute rules first.
Red flags
These come up again and again in buyer complaints on jewelers’ forums and review sites, and in sourcing checklists:
- only stock photos, and no way to show the quoted piece, or a similar one, being made;
- a price below the silver in the piece — about 92.5% of a 925 piece’s weight is silver, so a price under that, at the day’s silver price, cannot be sterling;
- refusing, or always postponing, a live video call;
- a payee that differs from the company on the invoice, or a request to pay a personal account;
- pressure to pay in full before a sample or any check;
- “no problem” to every technical question, but no figures for plating or non-silver parts;
- claims that change between listing, quote and invoice — “solid 925” in a title, “plated” in the small print;
- test reports with no laboratory, report number or date, or for a different product;
- a quote that leaves out moulds, packaging, testing or shipping.
Factory, trading company, agent or platform?
| Good for | Watch out for | |
|---|---|---|
| Factory | The lowest price for your own designs; direct contact with makers | A minimum per design; one material; vetting and inspection are yours |
| Trading company | Many product types, small quantities from stock, fluent English | A margin; they may not say who makes your goods, or may switch makers |
| Sourcing agent | Someone local who visits factories and checks quality, for a fee | Ask how they are paid — factory commissions can sway their choice |
| B2B marketplace | Many suppliers to compare; platform-recorded on-time and dispute rates | Listings mix factories and traders |
A trading company is often right for a mixed range in small quantities. What matters is knowing which one you are dealing with. Other evidence that is hard to fake: client references you can actually reach, an exhibitor listing on a trade fair organiser’s own website, and independent reviews spread over several years.
If you are checking us
Asoran is a 925 silver jewelry factory in Shanwei, Guangdong. Ask us for a live video call from the factory, order a sample before production, send your own inspector before shipping, and pay in stages: the sample fee first, the 30% deposit after you approve the sample, the balance after you approve photos of the finished order. Lab testing of pieces from your order is available at cost. More on our factory page.
Sources
- National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System — State Administration for Market Regulation, China
- Hong Kong Companies Registry e-Services — company search