How to Manage Unlimited Metal Types in WooCommerce for Custom Jewellery Products
Introduction
Most jewellery stores sell more than just gold. A well-stocked jewellery retailer might carry gold in three purities, sterling silver, platinum, palladium, rose gold, and several gemstone materials. Each has its own current rate, its own market, and its own pricing dynamics. Managing all of these in WooCommerce without the right infrastructure means either multiple spreadsheets, constant manual calculation, or accepting that some materials are always mispriced.
The ITS Jewellery Price Plugin supports unlimited custom metal types — meaning you can configure every material your store uses, each with its own current rate and pricing formula. This article covers how to structure and manage a multi-metal WooCommerce store effectively.
Why Unlimited Metal Types Matter
A plugin that only supports gold and silver doesn’t serve a full-range jewellery store. Consider the materials a comprehensive jewellery retailer might use:
Precious metals: Gold (24K, 22K, 18K, 14K), Silver (999, 925, 800), Platinum (950, 900), Palladium
Gold alloys: Yellow gold, White gold, Rose gold — all 18K but with different alloying metals that may affect cost marginally
Non-precious metals with variable costs: Rhodium (used for plating), Ruthenium
Gemstone materials: Diamond (by carat), Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire — for stores pricing gemstone jewellery by stone weight
Craft materials: If you sell Meenakari work, the enamel material cost; for Jadau, the Kundan material
For stores with this range, the ability to create a separate metal entry for each material — with its own updateable rate — is not a nice-to-have. It’s the difference between an automated pricing system and a partially manual one.
How the Unlimited Metal Types System Works
In the ITS Jewellery Price Plugin, navigate to Jewellery Price → Metals. You’ll see the list of metal types you’ve created. There’s no cap on how many you can add.
Each metal entry has:
- Name: How it appears in dropdown menus (product configuration) and in the price breakup display
- Current Rate: The price per gram (or per carat, for gemstones) that drives all product calculations
- Unit: Gram, carat, or whatever unit your products use
When you update a metal’s rate and save, every product assigned to that metal recalculates simultaneously. Metals you don’t update remain at their last-set rate.
Structuring Your Metal Types: Best Practices
Create Separate Entries for Each Gold Purity
Don’t use a single “Gold” entry and try to apply purity adjustments per product. Create:
- Gold 24K — current 24K rate
- Gold 22K — current 22K rate (approximately 91.6% of 24K)
- Gold 18K — current 18K rate (75% of 24K)
- Gold 14K — if you stock it (58.3% of 24K)
Separate entries let you update each purity independently when your supplier publishes rates, and ensure each product’s calculation uses exactly the right rate for its purity.
Handling Rose Gold and White Gold
Rose gold (18K) and white gold (18K) are gold alloys at the same 18K purity as yellow gold. Their raw material cost is identical to 18K yellow gold — the colour comes from the alloying metals, not a different gold content.
Option A: Use a single Gold 18K entry for all three colours. This is technically accurate for the metal cost.
Option B: Create separate entries for Gold 18K Yellow, Gold 18K Rose, Gold 18K White. This gives you the flexibility to adjust rates slightly if your supplier charges different prices for pre-alloyed white or rose gold (some do, because rhodium plating or special alloys add cost).
For most stores, Option A is simpler and adequate. If you do significant white gold sales and want to factor in rhodium plating cost, Option B gives you that control.
Platinum and Palladium
Platinum is priced by gram, like gold, but at a completely different rate (platinum is often more expensive than gold per gram, though rates vary). If you sell platinum jewellery:
- Add a Platinum 950 entry with today’s platinum per-gram rate
- Products made with Pt950 are assigned to this metal
- Wastage for platinum jewellery is typically lower than gold (2–4%) because platinum is denser and less is lost in working
Palladium (used in some white gold alloys and as a standalone metal in some markets) can be added similarly if your store carries palladium pieces.
Silver Configurations
If you carry multiple silver grades:
- Silver 999 (Fine Silver): Used for silver bullion, some art jewellery, silverware
- Silver 925 (Sterling): The standard for most wearable silver jewellery
- Silver 800 (Coin Silver): Less common, used in some vintage-style or antique reproduction pieces
Create a separate entry for each grade you stock. Sterling (925) is almost certainly your highest volume, but if fine silver pieces command a premium, having it as a separate configurable rate gives you accurate pricing.
Gemstone Materials
For stores pricing gemstone jewellery by stone weight (rather than at fixed prices per piece), you can add gemstone materials as custom metal types:
- Diamond SI1: Your current cost per carat for SI1 diamonds
- Diamond VS2: Your current cost per carat for VS2 diamonds
- Ruby (per carat): Your current cost per carat for rubies
- Emerald (per carat): Similar
- Sapphire (per carat): Similar
These work best for larger stones where the per-carat cost is significant and fluctuates meaningfully. For small accent stones (melee diamonds, tiny garnets) folded into making charges is usually simpler.
Custom Craft Materials
For stores selling traditional Indian jewellery that involves specific materials beyond precious metals:
Kundan (for Jadau jewellery): The glass-like material used in Kundan settings has a fairly stable cost, but you can configure it as a custom metal type and price the Kundan component alongside the gold frame.
Enamel (for Meenakari): Enamel costs per gram can be tracked as a custom material if enamel work is a significant component of product cost.
Lac filling: Some hollow jewellery has lac (a natural resin) filling. If this contributes meaningfully to product cost, it can be configured as a custom material.
A Worked Example: A Multi-Metal Jewellery Store
Let’s walk through how a comprehensive jewellery store might configure its metals list and why.
Store profile: Traditional and contemporary jewellery store, based in Jaipur. Sells 22K gold (traditional sets, plain jewellery), 18K gold (diamond jewellery, lightweight contemporary), silver 925 (fashion and tribal pieces), and Meenakari gold sets (22K gold with enamel work).
Metals configuration:
| Metal Name | Rate | Notes |
| Gold 22K | ₹6,211/g | Updated daily from IBJA rate |
| Gold 18K | ₹5,085/g | Updated daily |
| Silver 925 | ₹74/g | Updated daily from MCX |
| Diamond SI1 | ₹1,80,000/ct | Updated monthly |
| Enamel (Red) | ₹850/g | Updated quarterly |
| Enamel (Blue) | ₹1,100/g | Blue is rarer, higher cost |
| Enamel (Green) | ₹950/g | Updated quarterly |
Daily update routine (2–3 minutes):
- Update Gold 22K and Gold 18K with today’s rates (from supplier rate sheet)
- Update Silver 925 with today’s MCX rate
- Diamond SI1 and enamel materials: update when restocking or when supplier notifies of cost changes
Product configurations:
A Meenakari bangle (22K gold frame with green enamel):
- Primary metal: Gold 22K, 12g
- Making charge: ₹550/g (complex Meenakari work)
- Wastage: 6%
- Enamel: configured separately as a second material if the plugin supports multi-material products, or folded into making charges
For stores where a product has two meaningful material costs (gold + enamel, or gold + diamond), the typical approach with the ITS plugin is to use the dominant material as the primary metal type and fold the secondary material’s cost into the making charge as a flat addition. This keeps the configuration simple while capturing all costs.
Updating Multiple Metal Rates Efficiently
When you have many metal types, the daily update routine needs to be efficient. Here’s how to optimise it:
Update only what changed: Not all metals change at the same frequency. Gold and silver change daily. Platinum changes less frequently. Gemstones change monthly or less. Only update the rate for metals that have actually changed — don’t update platinum’s rate every day if you’re getting the same rate from your supplier.
Group your daily checks: Bookmark your rate sources (MCX for silver, your supplier’s morning message for gold, IBJA website) and check them in sequence each morning. Enter all the day’s rates into the metals admin in one session.
Use the Metal Price Log to track changes: The log shows you which metals changed when. If you’re uncertain whether you updated a metal today, the log answers the question without guessing.
Set a reasonable update threshold: Some store owners only update metals when the rate has moved by more than ₹50–100/gram — ignoring very small intraday moves that have negligible impact on product prices. This is a reasonable approach for a store updating once daily.
How Multiple Metal Types Appear in the Price Breakup
When a product is configured with a specific metal type, the price breakup display on the product page shows that metal’s name and current rate. For example:
For a Platinum 950 ring:
Platinum 950 Rate: ₹3,200/gramMetal Weight: 4.5gMetal Value: ₹14,400Making Charge: ₹1,800Wastage (3%): ₹432Total: ₹16,632
The breakdown is specific to the material, making the price entirely transparent and verifiable for any customer who knows today’s platinum price.
Organising Your Products Across Metal Types
With many metal types, maintaining a clear product organisation structure helps with ongoing management.
Use WooCommerce categories aligned with metal types:
- 22K Gold Jewellery (category)
- 18K Gold & Diamond Jewellery (category)
- Silver Jewellery (category)
- Platinum Jewellery (category)
When reviewing or updating products within a category, you know which metal rate is relevant — reducing context-switching and the risk of assigning the wrong metal to a product.
Name products with the metal type: “22K Gold Peacock Necklace” rather than just “Peacock Necklace.” This prevents confusion when product listings appear in mixed-metal search results or category pages, and helps with SEO (metal type in the product title is a key search qualifier).
Conclusion
The unlimited metal types feature in the ITS Jewellery Price Plugin is what makes it a complete solution for jewellery stores with diverse material inventories. Whether you’re managing three gold purities and silver, or a comprehensive mix including platinum, diamonds, and craft materials, every material gets its own configurable rate — and every product assigned to that material updates automatically when the rate changes.
Configure your metals once, update rates in a brief daily session, and your entire catalogue stays accurately priced regardless of what’s in it.
