Jewellers continue to regain their footing in the Chinese market, with various sectors of the industry such as retail, manufacturing and design moving towards sustained growth as the country gears up for a post-pandemic world. 

According to the National Statistics Bureau of China, sales of gold, silver and jewellery rose 16.7 per cent in October from 13.1 per cent in September on the back of solid demand during highly anticipated holiday celebrations such as the National Day Holiday and the Mid-Autumn Festival in early October. 

China also led the growth in the platinum jewellery market, data from the latest Platinum Jewellery Business Review (PJBR) of Platinum Guild International showed.

The country’s platinum jewellery fabrication jumped 13 per cent year on year as retailers regularly replenished orders. Retail sales of platinum jewellery from PGI’s partners meanwhile rose 5 per cent year on year due to resumed shopping activities and a rebound in bridal jewellery demand.

Gold jewellery pieces in innovative designs are also finding favour among younger buyers in China, with lightweight and stylish collections topping their shopping lists, a separate study by the World Gold Council (WGC) revealed.

According to WGC’s Gold Demand Trends Q3 2020, jewellers are increasingly promoting products such as 3D/5D hard gold and enamel-coated heritage gold – which both offer more stylish, lighter-weight designs at more affordable prices – following the emerging trend of “China Fashion” among young consumers. 

Demand for rhodium-plated black hard 24-karat gold jewellery is also on the rise. “One of the main barriers preventing young Chinese consumers from purchasing gold jewellery is the lack of styles that appeal to them. Creating innovative products with different stylish designs could help remove this barrier,” noted WGC.

Jewellery sales were further bolstered by bridal jewellery demand, thanks to couples who rescheduled their weddings to the third and fourth quarters of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

“Both gold withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange in September and conversations we had with our trade partners in the industry indicate that Chinese jewellery retailers were actively stocking up for the anticipated wedding gold jewellery sales boom. We expect this trend to develop further in Q4, having started on a positive note,” the council said.