Getting your Christmas catalogue ready starts in October, not November. For anyone working in B2B jewellery, this is the month when the Christmas season stops being a forecast and becomes an order that needs closing.
Why your Christmas catalogue must be ready by October
Christmas concentrates a disproportionate share of yearly gift-jewellery purchases into a few weeks — late November and December. For a retailer, that means the shelf needs to be full before demand spikes, not during it. Personalisable pieces (engravings, initials, sizing) and less standard karats are the ones with the longest production times — and therefore the first that need to be ordered.
The golden rule: stock depth, not just variety
The most common mistake isn’t having too few subjects in the catalogue — it’s having too little depth on the subjects that actually sell. A solid Christmas assortment doesn’t aim for “a bit of everything”; it secures enough stock on the highest-turning pieces and leaves variety as a secondary concern. Here are the categories to focus October’s order on.
Personalisable medals: bespoke gifts need more lead time
Initials, engraved names, dates of birth: personalisable medals are among the most requested Christmas gifts, but also among those with the longest production times, since each piece requires dedicated work. This is the first category to lock into the order, before delivery times stretch further as the holidays approach.
Letter pendants and love pendants: the classic family gifts
Initials remain one of the most chosen Christmas gifts, whether for oneself or a family member, often paired with a heart pendant to complete the gesture. These are very high-turning subjects during the Christmas period: solid stock levels on these two lines help avoid running out right in the peak weeks.
Religious gifts: crosses, medals and angels
Crosses, religious medals and guardian angels are among the most requested Christmas gifts across a wide age range: from a baptism celebrated within the family to a devotional gift for an adult. It’s worth covering several karats on the same subjects, so there’s an offer for both the entry-level gift and the more significant one.
Cufflinks and tie bars: the men’s gift that’s often overlooked
In the Christmas rush, the men’s category is often under-assorted compared to women’s and children’s. Cufflinks and tie bars are “safe” gifts for a father, husband or colleague, with demand concentrated mostly in December — a good reason not to leave this shelf empty.
What actually matters when planning for Christmas
A practical tip for retailers and importers
Better a slightly oversized October order on the best-selling subjects than a December reorder that risks arriving too late. Personalisable categories should be locked in first; on lucky charms, zodiac and other ready-to-ship items, there’s more room for a second reorder once the season has already started.
