【Italy】Gold Jewelry: Italian Exports Decline in Q1, Switzerland Returns as Top Market

(Teleborsa) – In the first quarter of 2026, the Italian gold jewelry sector recorded €2.4 billion in exports, a 17% decline in value and a 1% decline in volume. This is according to the regular research by Intesa Sanpaolo on the topic, which states that the trend is still affected by the progressive normalization of flows towards Turkey. Excluding this market, the change would have been positive, at +7% in value and +18% in volume. Thanks to a 54% growth, Switzerland has become the top export market, while good dynamics are also observed towards the United States (+16%), France (+22%), and Ireland (+27%). The outbreak of the conflict in Iran, however, penalized sales to the United Arab Emirates, which showed a contraction of 35%.

Global demand for gold jewelry stood at 300 tonnes, a 23% reduction compared to the first three months of 2025, equivalent to over 90 tonnes less. A lower value than this had only been touched in the second quarter of 2020, during the peak of the pandemic, with 250 tonnes. Conversely, the value of demand increased by 31% year-on-year, reaching $47 billion – a record level for a first quarter in gold jewelry. These trends are linked to the high growth in the price of gold, which reached new all-time highs, touching peaks above €4,000 per ounce, with an average quotation for the quarter of €4,163 per ounce (the average for 2025 was €3,028).

In the European context, Italy is the leading country for gold jewelry exports. Following the 17% decline, the value of exported jewelry stood at €2.4 billion, over €500 million less than in the first quarter of 2025. The other main exporting countries, however, showed an increase in sales: France ranks second with €1.9 billion (+10%), with a clear gap from Ireland (€328 million; +10%), Germany (€301 million; +3%), and the Netherlands (€293 million; +50%).

Switzerland has returned to being the primary market for Italian gold jewelry exports, with a value of €515 million (+54% in value; +118% in volume) in the first quarter of 2026, followed by the United States at €269 million, up 16%. Exports to the United Arab Emirates contracted (-35% in value; -42% in volume), impacted by the outbreak of the conflict between the United States and Iran, which affected one month of the analyzed period. Growth was widespread among other major international counterparts, such as France (+22%), Ireland (+27%), Hong Kong (+21%), and the Netherlands (+49%).

Territorial data, available only in value and for the aggregate that includes costume jewelry, show trends still conditioned by the Turkish market, especially for the Arezzo district, which overall shows a decline of 49%, while excluding this counterpart, it reduces to -13%. The province showing the most significant growth in value is Alessandria, which went from €416 million to €647 million (+€232 million; +56%), while the Vicenza district confirmed its export value from the first quarter of 2025 at €651 million, after showing 6% growth over the past year. A significant leap (+€200 million) was recorded in exports from the province of Varese, which went from €15 million to €216 million. The main increases were towards Switzerland (+€56 million), Israel (+€31 million), the United States (+€28 million), and Hong Kong (+€23 million); the province’s flows can also be influenced by its proximity to the Swiss border and the international airport, aspects that could justify the presence of logistics units. A similar phenomenon of strong increase was also recorded in the province of Lecco (from €54 million to €150 million), and in this case, the increase is entirely justified by higher exports to Switzerland. In contrast, exports from Milan contracted (-€78 million; -24%), mainly due to lower flows to the United States (-€25 million; -55%) and Japan (-€22 million; -77%), and also from Turin (-€155 million; -80%), penalized mainly by lower exports to Switzerland (-€161 million; -90%). The Naples and Caserta hub remained stable, overall confirming the values of the first quarter of 2025.

The Arezzo district, despite the sharp decline recorded (-49%), confirms the highest export value with €721 million. The contraction is concentrated in the normalization of flows towards Turkey (-92%) and a significant drop in sales to the United Arab Emirates (-39%), which in 2026 still represent the primary reference market for the Tuscan district. Sales to the United States (+10%), France (+6%), and Hong Kong (+9%) were growing. It is also interesting to highlight the significant growth in the Australian market, which went from €6 million to €15 million, showing an increase equal to that observed in the American market; these movements could be a signal of the new geographies emerging in the international context.