Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** Italian jewelry exports fell nearly 19% in value in 2025, with 90% of production tied to foreign markets. Luxury districts fared better, but the Middle East poses concern. President Squarcialupi calls for support amid an “unprecedented challenge.”
Italian jewelry closed 2025 with a sharp decline: ‘Unprecedented challenge’
Exports, which involve 90% of production, fell by nearly 19% in value last year. Luxury-focused districts performed better, while the Middle East is a concern. President Squarcialupi: ‘It’s difficult to make forecasts; we need answers and support.’
The decline had already occurred in the first half of 2025, which closed with a year-on-year export drop of 13.9%, and the first nine months marked -15.2%. For the Italian goldsmith-silver-jewelry sector, 2025 closed with a further worsening of the negative trend: according to elaborations by the Confindustria Federorafi Study Center on Istat data, in the 12 months, value fell by 18.9% compared to the January-December 2024 period, to 12.5 billion euros. Considering quantities, with reference to wearable jewelry alone, over the entire 2025, exported volumes showed a significant decrease compared to 2024, equal to -22.7%.
Weighing on these data are the increases in gold and other precious metals, US tariff policies, and geopolitical tensions, with inevitable repercussions on the final consumer. The negative impact is significant due to the trend of exports to Turkey and sales to the United States, while exports to Switzerland (hub for top brands) and the United Arab Emirates remained positive, though the latter is now at the center of new tensions in the Middle East.
In the major districts of the sector, 2025 exports closed with an average annual decrease of -18.1%: Arezzo confirms itself as the first among Italian provinces for export value, despite a decrease of -40.9% compared to 2024; with exports close to 4.6 billion euros, it still ensures 34.8% of the total sectoral exports from Italy. The performance of the Tuscan province is significantly affected by the flow of precious items destined for Turkey. Second, the province of Vicenza shows a countertrend compared to the national and Arezzo data, marking an increase of +6.4%, with a share of 20.3% of the national total (about 2,655 million euros). Alessandria (Valenza) in third place: in line with Vicenza, contrary to the national trend, it closes with a positive variation and grows by 27.3%; the Piedmont province thus covers 17.6% of total exports worldwide. Finally, exports from the Naples and Caserta production district are down by 2.8%.