How to sell jewelry online in the EU: hallmarks, nickel, engraving

To sell jewelry online in the EU, you check three things before the first product goes live: the hallmark and fineness rules of every country you ship gold and silver to, the EU limits for nickel, lead and cadmium in anything worn on the skin, and the 14-day right of withdrawal, which does not cover engraved pieces. In the store, ring size and metal are variants, engraving is a product option, and expensive parcels travel insured.

This guide is for jewelers, designers and resellers who sell to consumers anywhere in the EU, from fine gold and silver to fashion jewelry in steel or brass. The safety limits come from the REACH Regulation and apply in every member state; hallmarking is national, so it changes with the country. The admin paths are from CloudCart. This is not legal advice: confirm the rules for your company with a lawyer or an accountant.

How to start a jewelry online store: 8 steps

A jewelry online store starts with one decision: will you sell precious metals? Gold, silver and platinum bring hallmarking rules that vary by country. Jewelry in steel, brass or beads has no hallmark, but the EU limits for nickel, lead and cadmium still apply.

1. Pick a niche. "Engraved silver jewelry for gifts" sells more easily than "all kinds of jewelry".
2. Check the rules of your markets. Hallmarking where you ship gold and silver, and any registration for trading in precious metals.
3. Get the paperwork with the stock. Fineness certificate, invoice and nickel test results.
4. Have the pieces hallmarked where the law requires it. Before they are offered for sale.
5. Photograph to one standard. Close-ups, plus a shot on the hand or neck for scale.
6. Build the catalogue. Ring size and metal as variants, engraving as an option, fineness and weight as properties.
7. Set up delivery and payment. Declared value or insurance for expensive parcels, card payments and wallets.
8. Plan marketing around gift dates. Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, weddings, Christmas.

Do you need a licence to sell gold and silver jewelry online?

There is no single EU licence for selling jewelry. Hallmarking and any registration for trading in precious metals are set by each member state, and they apply to online shops the same way as to a shop on the high street.

Many European countries cooperate through the Convention on the Control and Marking of Articles of Precious Metals, known as the Hallmarking Convention. According to its list of members, it has 22 contracting states, among them Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Ireland. Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Romania and Greece are not on the list, so check their national rules separately.

Hallmarks and fineness: what 585, 750 and 925 mean

Fineness is the share of pure metal in thousandths by weight: gold 585 contains 585/1000 pure gold (14 carats), gold 750 is 18 carats, and silver 925, sterling silver, contains 925/1000 pure silver.

The Common Control Mark (CCM) is the Convention's shared hallmark. According to the Convention's FAQ, only an authorised assay office can apply it, never the manufacturer, and it always comes with three other marks: the assay office mark, a responsibility mark identifying the maker or sponsor, and a fineness mark. A piece with the CCM and these marks does not have to be hallmarked again in another contracting state, as long as its fineness is legal there.

Metal	CCM finenesses legal in all Convention states	Carats
Gold	750 and 585	18 and 14
Silver	925 and 800	Not expressed in carats
Platinum	950	Not expressed in carats

The FAQ adds two limits worth knowing before you ship: weight exemptions for very light pieces differ from country to country, and pieces combining several precious metals are not accepted everywhere. If you sell 9 carat gold (375) or other finenesses, check each destination country.

Selling gold and silver into Bulgaria: an example of national rules

Bulgaria is not a Convention member and has its own system. Gold and silver articles sold there are assayed and marked in laboratories of the NRA, the Bulgarian tax agency, in Sofia, Varna, Burgas, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo, Ruse and Kardzhali, according to the NRA page on marking precious metal articles (in Bulgarian). Traders bring their registration certificate for trading in precious metals, the fineness certificate and, for pieces bought in another EU country, the invoice. Marking is usually done on the spot, or within 7 days.

Important: if you make gold or silver jewelry yourself, most hallmarking systems also require your own maker's or responsibility mark, registered with the assay office. Register it before your first batch.

Nickel, lead and cadmium: EU limits for every piece of jewelry

Every piece of jewelry sold in the EU has to meet three restrictions in Annex XVII of the REACH Regulation.

Substance	Limit	Applies to	Source
Nickel, post assemblies in pierced ears or body parts	Release below 0.2 µg/cm²/week	Earring posts, piercing jewelry	Entry 27
Nickel, parts in direct and prolonged contact with skin	Release not above 0.5 µg/cm²/week; a coating must keep it there for at least 2 years of normal use	Earrings, necklaces, bracelets, chains, anklets, rings, watch cases and straps	Entry 27
Lead	Below 0.05% by weight in any individual part	Jewelry, imitation jewelry, hair accessories, parts for jewelry making	Entry 63, since 9 October 2013
Cadmium	Below 0.01% by weight of the metal	Metal parts of jewelry, metal beads and components	Entry 23, since 10 January 2012

The nickel conditions are in Regulation (EC) No 552/2009, tested by CEN standards. The lead limit is in Regulation (EU) No 836/2012, which exempts natural precious and semi-precious stones unless treated with lead, enamels, crystal glass and jewelry made before 10 December 1961. Cadmium is restricted by Regulation (EU) No 494/2011. Keep a supplier test report per material, and add the GPSR details to the product page, as explained in GPSR and the product page.

Product information: what the customer sees and gets

Customers buying gold or silver online want the metal, the fineness and the weight. Some countries also require a fineness certificate or these details on the receipt.

• Metal, fineness and weight in the text of the product page, not only in the photo: "Silver 925, 3.2 g, rhodium plated".
• Fineness and weight reach the invoice. Keep them in the product name, which becomes the invoice line.
• Gemstones described precisely. Natural, lab-grown or imitation, and the certificate only if one is included.

What photos jewelry needs

Every piece needs 5 to 6 photos taken the same way: a main shot on a light background, a close-up of the detail, the piece worn for scale, the hallmark and clasp, the packaging, and one main photo per metal.

Photo	What it shows	Tip
Main	The whole piece on white or light grey	Same angle and distance for the whole category
Detail	The stone, the engraving, the chain links	Macro lens or the phone's macro mode, no filter
Scale	The piece on a hand, ear or neck	Caption: "Chain 45 cm, pendant 12 mm"
Hallmark	The fineness and the hallmark	Proves the piece is marked
Per metal	Yellow, white and rose gold separately	Linked to the variant with Modify images

Shoot metal in a light box or by a window with a white sheet at the side, and after any AI editing check the engraving and the stones at 100% zoom. More in AI product photos and background removal.

Variants: ring size, metal and chain length

Ring size, metal and chain length are entered as variants of one product, each with its own stock, price, SKU and barcode. A ring in 6 sizes and 2 metals is one product with 12 variants.

In CloudCart you create the parameter once for the whole store in Products → Variants, with + Add variant. In the product editor you choose Product with variants, and in Manage variants you set the price, SKU and stock of each combination. Up to 3 parameters and 500 combinations per product. Details in product catalogue: variants, properties and brands.

What the customer chooses	How you enter it	Why
Ring size	Variant, Radio button type	Each size has its own stock and weight
Metal (yellow, white, rose gold, silver)	Variant, Color sample or Image sample type	The customer sees the colour and the main photo changes
Chain length (40, 45, 50 cm)	Variant, Radio button type	Different weight and price
Engraving text, font	Product option	Does not split stock: the piece is the same
Fineness, stone, plating	Property	A filter in the category

Ring size chart for European customers

In most of continental Europe, a ring size is the inner circumference in millimetres, as in the ISO 8653 standard: size 54 fits a finger of 54 mm. Many shoppers know their inner diameter instead (17 mm), while UK customers use letters and US customers numbers. The conversion is circumference = diameter × 3.14, so put both columns in your chart.

Inner diameter, mm	Inner circumference, mm (EU size, rounded)
15	47
16	50
17	53
18	57
19	60
20	63

Under the chart, explain how to measure, add "between two sizes, choose the larger one" and say whether the ring can be resized.

In CloudCart the chart is shown with the Size Chart app (Apps → Size Chart). The chart itself is a page in Content → Pages, and in Conditions → Create new you link it to the "Rings" category. In Title (Will be Visible in the Store) you write the link text, for example "Find your ring size".

Engraving and personalisation with product options

Engraving is offered as a product option: the customer types the text on the product page, the engraving price is added to the piece, and the text reaches you on the order line. An option does not split stock, so a ring with and without engraving stays one stock count.

1. Install the Product Options app. Products → Options then appears in the menu.
2. Create the option. + Create new option, an internal title and a title for the store: "Engraving text".
3. Choose the field type. Text for a name or date, Textarea for a message, Select or Radio for the font, File for a drawing or handwriting. The type cannot be changed after the option is created.
4. Set a price. A fixed amount, for example €8 for engraving, or a percentage.
5. Decide whether it is required. A required option keeps the product out of the cart until it is filled in.
6. Assign it to products. Individual products, a category ("Pendants"), a brand or a smart collection.

The number of options depends on the plan: 5 in Baby Pack, 10 in Starter Pack and unlimited in CC Pro and CC Master, as listed on the plans page. The same app makes a paid gift box option.

Important: deleting a File type option also deletes the files customers uploaded with past orders, and this cannot be undone. Keep the option until every order that uses it is fulfilled.

Insured delivery for jewelry

An expensive piece ships with a declared value or insurance: the courier accepts the parcel for the value you state, for a fee on its price list. Liability for loss follows your courier contract.

• GLS. In Apps → GLS, the settings include switches for Insurance and Declared parcel value. GLS ships from your contract country to any European country it serves, and the customer can pick a GLS ParcelShop at checkout.
• DHL. The DHL app covers international parcels, including destinations outside the EU, with the customs paperwork for non-EU shipments.

Use a plain box and photograph the packed parcel next to the tracking number: in a dispute with the courier, that is your evidence. All courier apps are on the shipping page.

Card payments for jewelry

CloudCart Pay takes Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay in the store itself, with no separate bank agreement.

Returns of jewelry bought online

In every EU country, a customer can withdraw from an online purchase within 14 days of receiving it, without giving a reason. The exception that matters for jewelers is in Article 16(c) of the Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU: goods made to the consumer's specifications or clearly personalised. A ring engraved with a name is such a case. Say so next to the engraving field and in your terms. A faulty piece is still covered by the legal guarantee.

Since 19 June 2026, Directive (EU) 2023/2673 requires every online store selling to EU consumers to offer a withdrawal function labelled "withdraw from contract here" or an equally clear phrase, available throughout the withdrawal period. In CloudCart this is the Withdraw from contract app (Apps → Withdraw from contract). For an engraved piece, you apply the exception when you process the request. Refund deadlines are in returns and consumer rights for online stores.

Before you refund, check the hallmark and weight of the returned piece, and offer a size exchange first.

Selling jewelry across the EU: VAT and a store per country

• VAT. Once your sales to consumers in other EU countries exceed €10,000 a year in total, you charge the VAT of the customer's country and declare it through the One-Stop Shop (OSS) of your own country. Details in OSS and EU VAT for cross-border sales.
• A store per country. With the Multilang app, each language gets its own store linked to your main one: products are copied, texts can be translated with AI and prices adjusted with a multiplier. See multilingual and multi-currency stores.

Handmade jewelry: what is different

Handmade jewelry in silver or gold is your own production: on top of the trader's rules come your maker's mark, metal from a supplier with a composition certificate, and hallmarking before sale where it is required. Handmade jewelry in beads, leather or steel has no hallmark, but the nickel, lead and cadmium limits apply to the clasps, findings and wire you buy.

State the making time on the product page and add a product option for made-to-order text or measurements. More in selling handmade products online.

Marketing a jewelry online store

Jewelry marketing follows gift dates: Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, graduations, weddings, Christmas. Start 3 to 4 weeks early: engraving and delivery take time.

• Instagram and Facebook. Short videos of the piece worn in daylight. The catalogue goes to Meta for dynamic ads and shopping through the Facebook XML feed (Apps → XML Feed → FaceBook).
• Google. Shoppers search by metal and stone ("sterling silver bracelet", "18k gold ring"), so put the metal and fineness in the product title. With Google Shopping your products appear with a photo and a price.
• Gift cards. They solve "I don't know her ring size".

A catalogue in a spreadsheet is uploaded with the product import from CSV, XML or Google Sheets.

Frequently asked questions

Questions about variants, engraving options or courier settings in CloudCart? Write to us at support@cloudcart.com. You can start your store today: Create a store for €1.