Our holiday 2026 stocking plan for Canadian jewellers: what to put in the case, how deep to stock it, and when to place each order.
It’s the Saturday before Christmas, just after two.
A man in a wet parka is at your counter, holding his phone against the glass. His daughter has sent him a photo of a 6mm yellow gold stud. You have 5mm. You have 7mm. The 6mm sold out on Thursday.
He’s nice about it. He buys nothing. He walks across the mall.
That sale wasn’t lost in December. It was lost in September, when someone decided how many studs to order. It’s September now, so here is our holiday 2026 stocking plan for Canadian jewellers: what to buy, how much of it, and the one weekend in November that pulls it all together.
First, What Kind of Holiday Season Is 2026?
The last three months carry the year. Statista puts October to December at 34.7 per cent of a jewellery store’s annual sales, higher than almost any other kind of retailer.
But last year, that money arrived differently:
- Independent jewellers finished December up 5 per cent, according to Edge Retail Academy.
- The entire gain came from prices, which rose 12 per cent.
- Diamond jewellery sold 13 per cent fewer pieces.
- In Canada, gold jewellery volume was down 16 per cent in the first quarter, says the World Gold Council.
We wrote about the same pattern in our summer 2026 market review. In plain terms: your customer is still coming in. She just has a number in mind, and that number buys less gold than it used to. The fix isn’t a smaller case. It’s a case planned around weight.
Start Your Holiday Stocking Plan With the Gift Tray
These are the pieces that sell in five minutes. Not exciting, but this is where your foot traffic becomes receipts.
- Studs. Our 10kt CZ studs run 3mm to 8mm, half a gram up to 2.7g (CE00 to CE05). Carry every size in yellow and white, with backups. A tray with a gap in it is only half a tray.
- Huggies. EE3009 and the diamond-cut EEC3000 series, both about 1.2g, in yellow, white and rose.
- Crosses and evil eye. Cross pendants start at half a gram. Evil eye comes as pendants and bracelets.
- Something for the little ones. Birthstone screwback earrings in all twelve months, and 14kt baby ID bracelets at 1.3 to 2.4g. Grandparents ask for these every December, and they buy when you have one in the drawer.
Twelve Chains, Eighty Grams
Here’s the number we keep coming back to.
An 8mm solid Miami Cuban (GDOV250) weighs 89.1g at 20 inches. Our 8mm hollow Miami 200 looks the same on the neck and weighs 28.2g.
Now picture a whole chain wall:
- For her: Singapore in solid and hollow, a box chain, a rolo, a hollow Figaro, a 2mm hollow rope, a hollow curb, and a 3mm Franco.
- For him: solid Cubans at 2.5mm and 3.3mm, a 3.5mm Franco, and a 7mm hollow Miami.
Twelve 10kt chains. About 80 grams together, less than that one solid Cuban.
So the choice is yours: 89 grams in a single chain that suits one customer, or 80 grams in a wall where nearly everyone finds something.
While you’re at it, give the men a real section instead of one tray in the corner. The 10kt men’s hollow CZ bracelets (GB10 to GB20) sit nicely beside the solid Cuban range, which runs all the way up to the 15mm GDOV450. Keep one big Cuban on display and sell the rest from the catalogue, and see how we source Italian gold if you want the background on how these chains are chosen.
18kt, Without the 18kt Price Tag
Some customers only want 18kt, but they won’t spend like it.
If someone likes a heavier 14kt piece and stalls at the price, show them our 18kt lightweight line instead. The studs start at half a gram (AE5mm-18), the 2mm hoops at 1.2g, and the AB1007-18 bracelet is 1.4g. They get the higher karat for a similar spend, and you get a better answer than “we only have that one in 10kt.”
Diamonds: Stock the Small Ones, Show the Rest
Diamonds were the soft spot last December. That doesn’t mean skipping them. It means the affordable pieces have to carry the category.
Keep these in the case:
- 14kt diamond huggies, like EE0096 at 0.15ct
- Pendants in the 0.10 to 0.40ct range
- The narrow tennis bracelets: 1.48ct at 1.75mm, 3.03ct at 2.5mm, in natural or lab-grown
Everything bigger, tennis up to 25ct and Riviera necklaces to 39.5ct, sells beautifully from the catalogue over a proper conversation. Same with bridal. Plenty of people get engaged over the holidays, and our 14kt wedding bands come in any width and any karat. That’s a lovely promise to make at the counter, as long as the order goes in early.
The Holiday 2026 Stocking Plan: Four Dates and One Weekend
Early October. Gift tray at full depth, first chain wall in the case. You want it all in before Thanksgiving weekend (October 12) and the Diwali gold-buying days leading up to November 8.
Mid-October. Anything made to order: custom chain lengths, wedding bands, diamond line configurations. Give us a call and we’ll tell you the current lead times.
November 1 and 2: Time & Shine, Toronto. This is the weekend to build your season around. You’ll have a month of real sales behind you, and nearly eight weeks of selling still ahead. Come see the whole range in one room, feel the hollow and solid Cubans side by side, and lock in what you need for Black Friday (November 27), Hanukkah (from December 4) and Christmas. Whatever you secure that weekend is what your case looks like in December. We’ll be there with the full collection, so bring last month’s sales report and go home with December handled.
Mid-December. Fill-ins only, and only what’s already selling.
Then count everything on Boxing Day and start thinking about February.
Two Habits That Keep a Holiday 2026 Stocking Plan Honest
Buy in waves. Gold has swung by hundreds of dollars an ounce in a matter of weeks this year. Put your whole order in on one day and your margin rides on that day’s price. Split it across early October, mid-October and the Time & Shine weekend instead. That is the whole reason this stocking plan runs in waves.
Budget in grams. Once you plan by weight, the choice between a twelve-chain wall and one heavy Cuban isn’t a matter of taste. It’s arithmetic. It’s the same thinking behind quoting findings by weight rather than by the piece.
Back to the Man With the Phone
Picture it again, but with a full stud tray.
He holds up the photo. You slide the tray forward. The 6mm is right there. Ninety seconds later he’s out the door with a small box and a good story about his daughter.
That’s all a stocking plan really is.
Our showroom at 27 Queen St. East, Suite 1105 in Toronto is open to the trade, and the catalogue is a phone call away at 416-603-4242 or info@dioro.ca. And if September gets away from you, we’ll see you at Time & Shine on November 1 and 2.
The Holiday 2026 Stocking Plan on One Page
- Early October: gift tray at full depth, first chain wall in the case
- Mid-October: made-to-order pieces, including custom lengths and wedding bands
- November 1 and 2: Time & Shine in Toronto, where December gets locked in
- Mid-December: fill-ins only, and only what is already selling
- Boxing Day: count everything, then plan February
Frequently Asked Questions
Place the main order by early October so it is in the case before Canadian Thanksgiving and Diwali. Order made-to-order pieces by mid-October, lock in December stock at Time & Shine in Toronto on November 1 and 2, ahead of Black Friday and Hanukkah, and keep mid-December for fill-ins only.
Start with last year’s October-to-December units for each style, then move spending toward lighter pieces, because shoppers are buying fewer and lighter pieces at higher prices. Stock gift items deep, stock chains wide, and hold back part of the budget for the November reorder.
Lightweight gold gifts lead: 10kt CZ studs from 3mm to 8mm, huggies around 1.2g, cross and evil eye pendants, baby ID bracelets and birthstone earrings. Chains follow, with hollow styles giving wide looks at lower gold weights, along with entry-level diamond pieces such as 0.15ct huggies and narrow tennis bracelets.
In DIORO’s 10kt range at 20 inches, an 8mm hollow Miami Cuban weighs 28.2g and an 8mm solid Cuban weighs 89.1g, so the hollow chain uses less than a third of the gold.
At the DIORO showroom at 27 Queen St. East, Suite 1105 in Toronto, open to the trade, and at the Time & Shine trade show in Toronto on November 1 and 2, 2026. Request the catalogue at info@dioro.ca or 416-603-4242.