3 Gold-Filled Findings Suppliers You’re Going to Love

Do you know what use to drive me nuts when I first started making jewelry?

When I couldn’t find a supplier for a particular jewelry component I need. OR, worse still, you finally find a good one and they stop selling it…Grrrrrr 🤨

So, somewhere along the way, I started collecting suppliers. Lots of them. Probably an unnecessary number of them, if I’m honest. Just so I’m never out of stock.

You see, I can’t just have one supplier for gold filled beads. No way. I have to have four!

Yep! A back up. Another back up. A back up No. 3. Then back up No. 4 of course.
Because being caught without a 4mm gold filled bead is something I call a real life emergency 😅

I think the habit came from me running a much bigger business. When you have a team of 30 people relying on you to keep the cogs turning and make sure they have everything they need to actually do their jobs, I quickly learnt that running out of one tiny component can cause a huge problem and many times it did.

So my backups became a necessity. If one supplier was out of stock, I needed another one. And if they were out of stock… well, I needed another one after that.

My business may be much smaller these days, but my habit just stuck.

But it works for me. If one supplier stops stocking something, puts their prices up or disappears altogether, I’m rarely left hunting for long.

And over the years my little supplier list has grown to include findings, beads, pearls, chains, packaging, tools… you name it.

So, in the spirit of sharing, here are three fabulous gold-filled findings suppliers I think you’re going to love.

no.1 – International Craft

Best for: Gold-filled beads, & gold filled chains
Business Type: Wholesale
Based: UK, ships internationally

I’ve used IC for years, particularly for their gold-filled beads, and they’re still one of my go-to suppliers. I’ve shopped around plenty over the years, but I’ve yet to find anywhere cheaper for the same quality in the UK.

They have a really good selection of bead sizes too, which is handy when you want to mix tiny spacers with larger feature beads without having to order from three different places. Their gold-filled chains are another favourite of mine. I’ve used them in my own jewelry for years and have always found them great quality and really good value. Definitely one I keep going back to.

Website: www.InternationCraft.com

no.2 – beadcorp

Best for: Everything gold filled!
Business Type: Wholesale
Based: USA

BeadCorp is another really good one if you’re buying wholesale and want your money to go a bit further. Their prices are really, really good, particularly if you’re used to buying your findings at retail prices.

They have a huge range too, including plenty of gold-filled findings, beads, chain and all those useful little components that somehow end up costing a small fortune when you’re buying them individually.

They also offer some great quantity discounts, which you can see directly on the website as you increase the amount you’re buying. So if you have a finding or bead you use all the time, buying a larger batch can bring the price down quite considerably.

Definitely worth a browse if you’re making jewelry to sell and want to start buying your findings at proper wholesale prices. I’ve found their pricing pretty hard to beat.

Website: www.BeadCorp.com

no.3 – CGM Findings

Best for: Gold-filled beads, & findings
Business Type: Wholesale
Based: USA

CGM Findings is a proper old-school wholesale supplier. The website is, shall we say, not winning any design awards – it’s circa 1980, but don’t let that put you off. They have a really really good choice of gold-filled findings, beads, chain and components, with wholesale pricing.

If you’re buying in larger quantities, it’s also worth contacting them as lower prices are available on many items for bulk orders. US customers get free UPS Ground shipping on online orders of $200 or more.

A good one to have bookmarked, particularly if you’re starting to buy your findings in bigger quantities and want to get those costs down.

Website: www.CGMFindings.com

So, What Is Gold Filled?

Gold filled is something I use pretty much every day in my own jewelry. For me, when I want the look and feel of gold, without the price tag of solid gold or the short lifespan you can get with basic gold plating. I head for gold filled.

Despite the name, gold filled isn’t actually filled with gold. It’s just a thick layer of real gold permanently bonded to a base metal, usually brass. That layer is considerably thicker than standard gold plating, which is why it wears so much better, like soooooo much better!

And that’s really why I love to use it.

A good quality gold-filled bead, chain or finding can stay looking beautiful for years.

If you’re making jewelry to sell, I think it’s a brilliant step up from plated findings. You get a much more durable, professional piece without having to leap all the way to solid gold prices…ouch!

Final Thought…

Those are three great companies, give them a go, see how you get on. But they’re certainly not the only ones I use. I’ve gathered 50+ of my go-to wholesale jewelry suppliers into one Supplier Directory, mainly because finding the good ones can involve an awful lot of searching, dead ends and some rather questionable websites.

If you’d rather skip some of that rummaging, you can find my full Jewelry Supplier Directory right here.

Bye for now!