Jewelry Industry Holidays You Need to Know About
The jewelry industry is a global one, with manufacturing largely taking place in Asia for demi-fine and costume jewelry, and in the US and Europe for fine jewelry. This means that, no matter where your jewelry is manufactured, you’re bound to run into some delays around certain holidays. Let’s break it down by region:
China - Lunar New Year, January/February
Chinese New Year isn’t a fixed date, and usually occurs in late January or early February. It is a huge holiday that results in a total standstill of most of China’s production across all industries. This annual holiday can result in huge delays of 4 - 6 weeks as many factories shut down for 2 weeks and workers travel to their hometowns. We advise getting any orders in by late November to avoid these delays.
Vietnam - Vietnamese New Year / Tết, January/February
"Tết" is a shortened form of Tết Nguyên Đán, with Old Vietnamese origins meaning "Festival of the First Morning of the First Day" - it’s the annual Lunar New Year festival in Vietnam and is generally the same week as the Chinese Lunar New Year. You can expect all factories in Vietnam to shut down completely for at least 9 days, though many will often shut for 14 days.
Thailand - Songkran - April
Thailand is known for its sterling silver production in particular and high level of craftsmanship. All factories will close for at least a full week around April 13, when Songkran, the Thai New Year, takes place. You can expect at least a 2 week delay in usual production times because of the backlog of work that will build up.
New York - Jeweler’s Week Off, July
Most of the jewelry in New York is made in the Diamond District, known to most jewelers as simply ‘47th Street’. Every July, the industry comes together to give everyone the week off. This includes casting houses, stone setters, gemstone vendors - the entire industry. This can create heavy backlogs that result in delays of roughly 3 weeks for NY-made pieces. Though Insider Creations doesn’t take the week off , all of our vendors are gone and therefore production can come to a standstill.
Italy - Ferragosto, August
Europeans know how to holiday, and Italians especially so. Ferragosto, which officially takes place on August 15, is a summer holiday that originated 2000 years ago to give workers a break after the agricultural season. Most of modern Italy has shut down for the entire month of August, though recently many companies have shortened that time to 2 weeks. This is a mandatory vacation required by most employers in Italy, and you’ll be hard pressed to find any factories open for business during August. This can be problematic for Holiday Season orders that rely on specialized Italian components and chain, and we suggest placing POs before the end of July to ensure holiday delivery.
India - Diwali, Mid-October - Mid-November
Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, is a five day festival that can take place any time between mid October and Mid november. The date for 2022 is 10/24, and for 2023 is 10/12. During Diwali, most Indian workers will travel a long distance to their hometowns to celebrate, and while the festival is only 5 days and official government holiday is only 2 days, most factories will be disrupted for at least a week, sometimes 2 weeks. As with other regions, this can create a disruptive backlog. Plan for orders to be placed at least 5 weeks earlier than usual around this time of year.