Jewellery’s Bright Moment — and the Looming Risks

Thanks to uber-wealthy shoppers like Lauren Sánchez Bezos — who flashed not one but two oversized diamond engagement rings at her Venetian nuptials — and the middle-class consumers opting to spend their $1,000 budgets on a Cartier Trinity bracelet instead of a handbag, jewellery remains resilient as the wider luxury market contracts.
This is despite price increases almost across the board, as jewellery players have sought to offset tariffs, inflation and the rising cost of gold. Analysts point out that jewellers have been more conservative in their approaches to price rises than fashion brands, and consumers see the rationale behind the uplifts as linked to the climbing value of gold.

Growth at Kering and Richemont’s jewellery maisons each notched up around 4 per cent in 2024, according to Morgan Stanley estimates. At LVMH, where jewellery continues to outshine other categories, gains across most brands were slightly offset by a 3 per cent dip at Fred and Tiffany. The prospects for 2025 remain broadly positive: Kering’s latest results underline the momentum of its jewellery portfolio, while LVMH reported a modest 1 per cent uptick in its watches and jewellery division, although linked to currency adjustments.

In recent years, jewellery houses have strengthened their product offerings by filling gaps across all price points, amplifying the visibility of their events — particularly in high jewellery — investing in cultural initiatives and refining design to differentiate beyond gemstone value alone. Their agility in seizing opportunities has allowed them to thrive.
While some point to newly introduced tariffs under the Trump administration and rising gold prices as potential headwinds, these are unlikely to significantly disrupt the sector. Instead, the greater risk may lie in one of jewellery’s strengths: icons. Another challenge could come from China, once a key growth engine, and India, a market long seen as promising but slow to deliver.
On 2 April, the US announced a 10 per cent baseline import duty and higher reciprocal tariffs — 31 per cent for Switzerland, 20 per cent for the EU, 10 per cent for the UK, and 26 to 27 per cent for India. While the 10 per cent tariff from Europe has been in effect since 5 April, the higher tariffs have been delayed as the administration continues to negotiate trade agreements. An initial deadline of 9 July to enact them has now been pushed to 1 August. At the time of writing, the US is levying an average tariff of 51.1 per cent on imports from China.
On 3 April, Pandora, the world’s largest jewellery producer by volume, with products ranging from $35 to $2,200, said that US tariffs will impact imports from key manufacturing hubs including Thailand, Vietnam, India and China. The company estimated a gross annual impact of approximately $168 million, with a projected hit of $98 million in 2025, if the reciprocal tariffs outlined on 2 April are enforced. While Pandora has not announced any price increases, it is adjusting its supply chain to serve Canada and Latin America directly, bypassing its US distribution hub.
However, for higher end jewellery, the effect of tariffs may prove negligible.

Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels have already responded. Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a New York management consultancy, reports that Cartier implemented 3 per cent price increases on jewellery and 5 per cent on watches in the US as of May, keeping hikes in line with or below other markets to protect volume and consumer loyalty. In April, Van Cleef & Arpels applied 10 per cent US price increases on its icon products, with lower adjustments in Europe (+5 per cent) and China (+7 per cent), while continuing to operate under a universal pricing policy to maintain global consistency, per BCG.

Small brands that are less equipped than big groups to hedge spikes in gold prices are, therefore, more likely to take the brunt. Sheherazade Goldsmith, founder of emerging jewellery brand Loquet, has a clear plan: