Good question, and one I hear every week from retailers upgrading from CZ to moissanite. The short answer: open with round brilliant solitaires in 6.5mm (1ct equivalent), then add 8mm and 5mm as your second order. Everything else is a secondary bet you build into after the solitaire proves itself on your counter. Let me walk you through what actually sells in the US mid-tier boutique channel so you don't tie cash up in slow SKUs.
The solitaire shape hierarchy
- Round brilliant 6.5mm — this is the volume workhorse. Roughly 55 to 60% of your moissanite pendant units will be this shape and size. It reads as a 1ct diamond solitaire, the price point (usually $28–$42 wholesale for silver) lands at a $89–$129 retail, and it pairs with every chain you already carry.
- Emerald cut 7×9mm — about 15% of units. Strong with professional women and the "quiet luxury" customer. Sells slower than round but at a higher ticket and with almost no returns.
- Oval 8×10mm — about 12%. Driven by TikTok and bridal-adjacent buyers who saw oval engagement rings. Good gift SKU for anniversaries.
- Heart, pear, cushion — combined under 15%. Heart is seasonal (Valentine's, graduation gifting window). Cushion is rising but still niche. Don't deep-stock any of these on a first order.
Setting styles that move versus what to skip
The four-prong martini setting is the default and should be 70% of your opening assortment. It sits flat on the collarbone, catches light from every angle, and is what customers picture when they think "diamond pendant." The bezel setting is your second style — about 20% — and appeals to customers who work with their hands, teachers, nurses, chefs, and want a stone that won't catch on sweaters. Skip the halo settings in moissanite at wholesale: the halo of small stones around a moissanite center usually looks overcrowded under magnification and has a higher return rate. Skip pendant-within-pendant and tassel moissanite designs too; they read as costume jewelry and undercut the premium you're trying to build.
Carat / size ladder to open with
- 5mm (~0.5ct equivalent) — 10% of units. Entry price, good for teens and first-purchase customers.
- 6.5mm (~1ct equivalent) — 60% of units. The core. Do not undershoot here.
- 8mm (~2ct equivalent) — 20% of units. Gift and self-treat customer, higher margin.
- 10mm+ (3ct equivalent) — 10% of units. Display piece, turns slowly, but anchors the case and drives trade-up when a customer sees the 8mm next to it.
Metal and plating notes
Open in rhodium-plated 925 sterling silver only. Yellow-gold vermeil moissanite pendants sell, but at roughly half the volume in most US regional markets, and yellow gold tarnishes/dulls faster in display. Rose gold is a 5% SKU — only add it if your store already skews rose-gold heavy. Make sure your supplier can certify VVS clarity, D–F color, and comes with a GRA or equivalent card. Customers now ask for the card; if you can't hand them one, the pendant competes on price against CZ and you lose that margin.
Chain pairing and margin
Default to shipping the pendant on a 1mm box chain, 18 inch, in rhodium-plated silver. The chain costs you $1.80–$2.50 wholesale and lifts the ticket by $20–$30 at retail. Retail math: pendant at $38 wholesale, chain at $2.20, package out the door at $40.20 — price it at $129–$149 and you're holding a clean 3x markup without looking expensive. Offer the 16 inch and 20 inch as swap options at checkout; about 25% of customers will take a non-18 length, and having it on hand saves the sale.
Reorder cadence
Open with 6 of the 6.5mm round, 2 of the 8mm oval, 2 of the 7×9 emerald, 1 of the 5mm, 1 of the 10mm, and 1 bezel variant of the 6.5mm. That's 14 pieces, roughly $520–$600 landed. If the 6.5mm round turns in under 6 weeks, reorder 12 of it and add a second shape. If it sits, you have a merchandising problem (display height, lighting, pricing) rather than an assortment problem — fix that before buying more. Moissanite pendants are not a "wait and they'll come" product; they need to be lit, at eye level, and next to a chain the customer can try on immediately.
A word on grading and certificates
One last point: not all moissanite is created equal. The white, near-colorless stones that sell at premium prices are graded VVS and D–F; the cheaper grayish, greenish, or "faint" stones sit in a case and make the whole pendant read as CZ. When you open a new supplier, order two sample 6.5mm solitaires — one at the bottom of their price range, one at the top. Look at both under a 10x loupe in natural daylight. The difference in fire and whiteness will be obvious, and you'll know which tier to buy at scale. The 15% price premium on a well-graded stone comes back to you in reduced returns and faster reorders, so it's not a place to save pennies.