HS codes for jewelry: a Shopify seller's guide

Jewelry classification has one organizing idea: what the piece is actually made of. Nearly everything a jewelry store ships lands in Chapter 71, and the split that decides your HS code is whether the piece is precious metal, imitation, or built from pearls and stones. The most common mistake in this category — and the one that matters most for a typical Shopify store — is about plating, so let's start there.

The plating trap: "gold-plated" is imitation jewelry

Under the HS, a coating of precious metal counts only as a minor constituent. A brass necklace electroplated with gold is classified by what it substantially is — base metal — which makes it imitation jewelry, heading 7117, not precious-metal jewelry. The same goes for gold-plated stainless steel, vermeil-style plating over base metal, and "dipped" pieces. There's one genuine exception: base metal clad with precious metal — a bonded, rolled layer rather than an electroplated film — which gets its own subheading, 7113.20, on the precious side of the line.

The flip side surprises sellers too: sterling silver is a precious metal. A 925 silver ring classifies under 7113.11 alongside gold and platinum pieces, even if it retails for $30.

The headings that cover a jewelry store

One boundary note on 7116: it covers pieces where the pearls or stones are the article — a strand of pearls, a beaded gemstone bracelet. A diamond set in a gold ring is precious-metal jewelry (7113.19); the setting governs.

A worked example: the gold-plated brass necklace

It's jewelry → Chapter 71. It's brass under the plating, and plating is a minor constituent → imitation jewelry, heading 7117. It's base metal and it isn't a cuff link → 7117.19. That's the full international code; enter 711719 in Shopify. If the same design were sterling silver, it would be 7113.11 — same product photo, different chapter logic, roughly one code per material line in your catalog.

Adjacent products that are not Chapter 71

Watches live in Chapter 91 — wristwatches under 9101 with precious-metal cases, 9102 otherwise. Hair accessories — claw clips, hair slides, decorative pins — typically classify under 9615 with combs, not as jewelry. Jewelry boxes and pouches sold separately are Chapter 42 territory (4202). If your store mixes these in, expect a second and third chapter in your catalog — normal and correct, and the same pattern we cover in the clothing guide for apparel accessories.

Check the code before you commit

For US imports, the USITC's tariff search at hts.usitc.gov shows how each subheading extends to ten digits; for US exports there's the Census Bureau's Schedule B tool; the UK Trade Tariff and the EU's Access2Markets cover those markets. Jewelry edge cases with real rulings behind them: mixed-material pieces, plated findings on otherwise-precious pieces, and jewelry sold in sets.

Applying codes across a Shopify catalog

Jewelry catalogs group cleanly: all the plated brass pieces share a code, all the sterling pieces share another, the beaded line a third. Size variants of a ring are one classification, and metal-color variants usually are too — unless the "gold" variant is actually solid gold while the "silver" is plated, in which case variants of one product genuinely carry different codes. That's exactly the level Shopify stores the field at — each variant's inventory item — and exactly the level at which Shopify gives you no list of what's still missing. Origova scans the catalog, lists every variant missing a code or carrying a malformed one, and lets you select a material group and apply its code in one reversible batch.

Frequently asked questions

Related: What is an HS code? The Harmonized System, explained · How to add HS codes to Shopify products in bulk · HS codes for cosmetics and skincare