What a leatherette earring box is — and what it has to do
An earring box holds a pair neatly with slots, a flap or a foam pad, so studs and drops stay together and face forward. Small and precise, it is one of the most-used boxes in any jewellery range.
Leatherette earring boxes are the most-ordered box in most retail ranges, so consistency matters more than anything: same grain, same foil position, same pad height across thousands of units.
How a leatherette earring box is built inside
The base pad carries two pin holes or two short slits set a fixed distance apart; the earring posts push through and the pair stands upright, side by side. For drops and hoops a small covered flap replaces the pad — the posts go through the flap and the drops hang free below it, so nothing is crushed when the lid closes.
Fit. Pin holes are pierced, not cut, so the pad grips a standard 0.8 mm post; the two holes sit 15–20 mm apart so the pair reads as a pair without touching.
In leatherette. A PU-covered insert has almost no give, so it is cut to the finished dimension and the covering is turned under and glued flat on the reverse; any excess thickness at a fold shows as a bump under the piece. Where a PU exterior meets a soft lined interior, the join sits inside the lid rim so the customer sees a clean edge.
Formats we make: stud box with a pierced pad · slit pad for lever-backs · flap box for drops and hoops · deep box for chandeliers.
Why leatherette (pu) for earring boxes
Leatherette — a fine PU with a leather-like grain — is the modern jeweller's workhorse: clean, hard-wearing and consistent from box to box. It takes a hot-stamped logo crisply and resists everyday marks.
PU is wrapped and turned over the shell edge, so the corner fold is the quality tell: we mitre and tuck corners rather than bunch them, and use a thinner PU on tight radii so the grain does not stretch and go pale. Grain, gloss level and hand-feel are all specified — a soft-touch matte PU and a saffiano-grain PU behave very differently under a hot-stamp.
PU is colour-stable and matches to Pantone references closely, which makes it the safe choice when several boxes in a range must match across production runs.
It suits branded retail ranges, e-commerce brands shipping many orders, and anyone who needs a crisp foil logo.
Specification at a glance
| Piece held | Pair of earrings |
|---|---|
| Insert | A twin-hole or twin-slit pad, or a covered flap for drops and hoops |
| Fit detail | Pin holes are pierced, not cut, so the pad grips a standard 0.8 mm post; the two holes sit 15–20 mm apart so the pair reads as a pair without touching. |
| Typical external size | Most earring boxes are 55–75 mm square and 30–40 mm deep; drop-earring flap boxes go deeper — 45–55 mm — to give the drops room to hang. |
| Formats | stud box with a pierced pad · slit pad for lever-backs · flap box for drops and hoops · deep box for chandeliers |
| Exterior | Leatherette (PU) — black, white, tan, camel, burgundy, navy, blush, deep purple |
| Hand feel | Crisp, firm, consistent — reads as a considered retail brand |
| Insert construction | Pu-wrapped pads with a soft lined slot |
| Interior lining | Velvet, microfibre suede or satin, in a matching or contrast colour |
| Logo | Leatherette is the best surface for a hot-stamped logo in gold, silver, rose gold or a blind (colourless) deboss. Foil sits cleanly in the grain and holds its edge over years of handling. |
| Closure | Hinged lid with a snap or magnetic catch; ribbon or clasp on travel formats |
| Shell route | Ready tooling library (no mould charge) where a standard size fits; fully custom dimensions on a wooden shell where it does not |
| Sample | A physical pre-production sample is made and approved before any bulk run |
| Quantity & lead time | Quoted per project — structure, materials and any tooling decide both; tell us the quantity you have in mind |
Two ways to get the size you need
Every box starts with the piece, and the piece decides the shell route:
- Ready tooling library. We hold a range of existing moulded shells in the common jewellery-box sizes. Where one of these fits your piece, there is no mould charge and the box is faster to produce — you choose the finish, lining and logo on a proven shell.
- Fully custom dimensions. Where no standard shell suits — an unusual pair of earrings, a signature proportion, a matching family of sizes — we build the box on a wooden shell cut to your dimensions and finished in lacquer or wrapped in your chosen material.
We will tell you which route fits your brief before quoting, so there are no surprises on tooling or timing.
What we check on every leatherette earring box
Before a sample is sent, and again on every bulk run, each leatherette earring box is checked against the same points — the insert is PU-wrapped pads with a soft lined slot, so the fit checks below are read against that construction:
- both earrings stand upright and face forward at the same angle
- posts are gripped by the pad and do not fall out when the box is tilted
- drops hang free of the base when the lid is closed
- the pair is centred in the box, not pushed to one side
- the grain runs continuously across lid and base with mitred corners
- lid and base outlines match exactly when closed — same footprint, same corner radius
- insert fills the cavity with no gap to the wall; walls are an even thickness
- leatherette panels have continuous grain or nap with straight, even seams
The most common faults we see in earring boxes bought elsewhere are holes punched too large for fine posts, a pad too thin to grip, and a flap box too shallow so the drops touch the base. Each of those is a specification decision, and we make it with you before the sample.
Made to your brand
Your size, your lining, your colour, your logo. Leatherette is the best surface for a hot-stamped logo in gold, silver, rose gold or a blind (colourless) deboss. Foil sits cleanly in the grain and holds its edge over years of handling. PU wipes clean and does not fade in a lit window display, so it suits stock that sits on a shop shelf.
You approve a physical sample before bulk, and the bulk order is held to the sample you approved — the same leatherette, the same insert, the same logo position.
How ordering works
Send us the pair of earrings dimensions (or the piece itself), the quantity you have in mind, your logo artwork and any colour references. We confirm the shell route and the insert, quote one clear all-in price, and make a pre-production sample for you to approve. Production follows the approved sample. Quantities and lead times are agreed per project rather than fixed, because structure, materials and any tooling decide both.
Why Chung Ngai
Chung Ngai is a manufacturer and supplier of jewellery and watch packaging, Hong Kong owned and managed since 1971. We build and check boxes by hand, quote one transparent price, and hold every bulk run to the approved sample. For leatherette earring boxes made to your brand, that consistency is what keeps jewellers re-ordering.