Editor’s Note
The success of Laopu Gold has drawn investor attention to a new generation of Chinese gold jewellery brands, as highlighted by Borland’s recent funding round. This signals growing market confidence in brands blending traditional craftsmanship with modern appeal.
A new crop of Chinese gold jewellery brands are attracting investor interest in the wake of Laopu Gold Co.’s breakout success.
Hangzhou-based Borland, a gold jeweller specialising in the traditional Chinese goldsmith technique known as “filigree,” said this week it has raised more than 100 million yuan ($14 million) from investors including Kering Ventures, the startup investment arm of Kering SA, and Shunwei Capital, a top Chinese venture capital firm co-founded by billionaire Xiaomi Corp. chairman Lei Jun.
Separately, Dayone Capital in recent days announced a strategic investment worth more than 100 million yuan in Lamchiu, a maker of hand-crafted bespoke pieces based in the northwest Chinese city of Lanzhou.
China’s high-end gold jewellery boom has been fuelled by the surprise rise of Laopu, which has defied the weak performance seen among Western luxury rivals in China. Laopu’s revenue in the first half of 2025 soared more than 250 percent year on year to 12.4 billion yuan, on top of 168 percent sales growth the year before.
Heritage gold jewellery refers to gold pieces rooted in Chinese culture and traditional goldsmith techniques, including filigree work. With stores in top-tier malls, Laopu’s clientele overlaps — and increasingly threatens — stalwarts from Hermès International SCA to Richemont-owned Cartier.
Still, while Borland and Lamchiu have official stores on e-commerce platforms like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Tmall and JD.com Inc., both have a limited physical presence — Borland operates just three mall outlets and Lamchiu, despite more than 1 million followers on ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok-like Douyin, has only one Lanzhou storefront.
Borland said it will use the new funding to expand distribution and boost supply chain resilience. Dayone has formed a team to help Lamchiu with similar tasks.
