Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** Despite a sharp 21.2% drop in value and 26.6% decline in volume, Italy retains its lead in European gold jewelry exports, driven largely by a steep fall in shipments to Turkey. Excluding that volatile market, exports actually rose 7.6%, underscoring resilience in global demand amid shifting trade dynamics.
Italy remains the leader in Europe in gold jewelry exports, despite a significant overall decline in 2025. According to a study by Intesa Sanpaolo, Italian gold jewelry exports reached 10.8 billion euros, a decrease of 21.2% in value and 26.6% in volume. This trend was heavily influenced by a sharp reduction in exports to Turkey (-66.4% in value, -72.0% in volume), following a surge in 2024 (growth of over 4 billion euros). Excluding this component, exports would have increased by 7.6%.
Global demand for gold jewelry in 2025 stood at 1,542 tonnes, a decrease of 345 tonnes compared to 2024 (-18.3%), influenced by the high growth in the price of gold, which showed an average increase of 37% (euro/ounce), according to the research by Sara Giusti and Daniela Corsini of Intesa Sanpaolo.
Despite a 21% decline, Italy remains the European leader in gold jewelry exports with 10.8 billion euros in 2025. France ranks second with over 7 billion euros and 6% growth, though its export level is still 3.8 billion euros lower than Italy’s. These two countries represent about 75% of European exports.
Turkey remains the main export market by value, accounting for 16.6% in 2025 (by volume, the US is the top market with a 16.4% share), despite a 66.4% decline. This reduction is due to restrictive policies on gold bullion imports introduced by the Turkish government in 2024, which encouraged the purchase of less processed products for further transformation.
Among other major markets, the United Arab Emirates recorded 13.0% growth, and Switzerland, with a 27.0% increase, positioned itself as the second market in 2025. There was also a notable increase in exports to the Netherlands (+56.3%), which is consolidating its role as a pivot and transit country. Conversely, exports to the United States fell by 9.4% (equal to -102 million euros), with direct exports to the US reaching 979 million euros in 2025. Among North American markets, exports to Canada doubled (+128 million; +111.0%).
Territorial data for goldsmithing and costume jewelry shows an increase for the Valenza (+27.3%) and Vicenza (+6.4%) districts, while Arezzo recorded a sharp decline (-40.9%), mainly due to the Turkish market, which had doubled the district’s export value in 2024. Excluding Turkey’s contribution, the total for the three districts would shift from -20.8% to +11.7%, with a particularly significant impact on the Tuscan district, which would show slight export growth (+1.2%). In 2025, the three districts collectively achieved exports of 9.5 billion euros, a decrease of 2.5 billion euros mainly due to the drop in exports to Turkey.
Despite the significant decrease, the Arezzo district remains the territory with the highest export value among those analyzed by Intesa Sanpaolo, reaching 4.6 billion euros. In 2025, exposure to Turkey was notably reduced, from 4.7 to 1.6 billion euros; the weight of this market for the district fell from 62% in 2024 to 34% currently. Excluding Turkey’s contribution, the district would have slightly increased its export value compared to 2024 (+1.2%), with stronger results in the first (+5.4%) and fourth quarters (+6.1%) compensating for the decline in April-June (-8.3%), which was particularly affected by lower exports to the United States (-34.5%) and the Dominican Republic (-84.4%).