Editor’s Note
As gold prices surge to record highs, jewelry companies are navigating new challenges to maintain affordability. This article explores how the industry is adapting through price adjustments and innovative production methods.
Some jewelry companies that aim to offer gold products at lower price points are beginning to sound the alarm on higher prices for the precious metal.
Gold has risen significantly over the past year, reaching record highs amid recession fears and macroeconomic uncertainty, and is forecast to continue to rise through next year.
To adapt, some companies are raising prices of their products, while others are exploring alternative avenues for producing high-quality products.
Gold prices held steady on Thursday, hovering near the record high hit the day before, helped by expectations of further U.S. rate cuts and political uncertainty.
Amid global economic turbulence, the prices of precious metals have been climbing higher and higher.
The price of gold in particular has skyrocketed over the past year, rising more than 50%. For midsize jewelry companies aiming to offer fine gold necklaces, earrings and more at lower price points than legacy luxury jewelry brands, gold futures could be spelling trouble.
Though gold is often subject to market fluctuations, investors have been increasing their holdings over the past year over recession fears and market uncertainty, according to Goldman Sachs. Gold is on pace for its third straight year of double-digit gains, even hitting record highs this week during the government shutdown.
On Tuesday, gold prices hit $4,000 an ounce for the first time in history — and they’re showing no signs of slowing down.
Analysts from UBS wrote last week that lower interest rates, weakness in the dollar and political uncertainty will only continue to drive the price of gold higher.
A Goldman Sachs report from late last month predicted the climb, forecasting that the price of gold will rise 6% through the middle of 2026 to $4,000 per troy ounce, a unit of measurement used for precious metals. The report categorized buyers of gold into two groups: conviction buyers, who purchase the metal consistently, and opportunistic buyers, who jump in “when they believe the price is right.”
The analysts said they expect central banks to continue buying gold for three more years.
And according to July survey data from the World Gold Council, roughly 95% of central banks expect global gold holdings to rise in the next year.
That uncertainty comes on top of an already turbulent global economy reeling from changing tariff policies. Though it was made clear in August that gold will not be tariffed and that bars from Switzerland will not be subject to the country’s 39% tariff, steep rates on other countries have been disrupting the global supply chain.
For jewelers, the rising price of the precious metal may be a cause for concern. Large retailers like Pandora and Signet have signaled that they are exploring price hikes or alternative manufacturing methods to counteract the hit they’re taking from gold.
And some jewelry companies that aim to offer gold products at lower price points, like Mejuri, are feeling the pressure too.
Mejuri, which aims to sell gold and luxury jewelry at more affordable levels than its competitors, announced last month that the company was being forced to raise its prices due to the rising cost of gold, silver and tariffs.
The company said it’s also innovating new products like 10 karat solid gold to keep offering quality jewelry at affordable prices.
With the price of gold rising and showing no signs of stopping, some jewelry companies are being forced to be innovative with their pricing and products.
In its second-quarter earnings report in August, Pandora said it faced an 80-basis point hit due to higher prices of gold and silver and that it planned some price adjustments to offset those headwinds. And on Signet’s most recent earnings call in early September, the company said it had seen more than 30% increase in the cost of gold.
BaubleBar, which specializes in fine jewelry, offers a large selection of “demi-fine” gold pieces, which co-founder Daniella Yacobovsky said has allowed the company to somewhat avoid the brunt of the pressure from gold prices.
The company’s demi-fine jewelry features a thick, high-quality 18k gold plated over a sterling silver base, which allows BaubleBar to avoid the costs associated with solid gold jewelry. The brand’s demi-fine earrings range from anywhere between $50 to $150.