The Surge in Gold Prices: What It Means for Jewellery Brands

Written By K P

Soaring global Gold Prices

As the heartbeat of the jewellery industry, Gold is a universal symbol of luxury, prosperity, and permanence. Gold itself is an indestructible material that cannot be broken down and cannot be created by man, there will never be any more or any less on earth than there is right now. But as of 2025, jewellers around the world are facing an increasingly tough reality: the soaring price of gold is completely reshaping the jewellery industry.

In the UK, the price of 24-karat gold in £-sterling rose from around £2,096.71 per ounce on 1 January 2025 to highs around £3,212.45 in mid-October. That represents a rise in excess of 50% year-to-date. Exchange Rates+1

The Royal Mint live gold price graph: 24/10/2025

Impact on Jewellery Brands

The gold price rally, driven by a mix of global uncertainty, inflation pressures, and investor demand, has created both challenges and opportunities for brands. While high prices reinforce gold’s prestige, they also force jewellers to rethink how they source, price, and position their collections in a rapidly shifting market.

For a jewellery brand using fine gold (say 18ct or 22ct) the raw material cost is now significantly higher than earlier in the year. A piece designed in January that anticipated a certain gold cost may now face a substantial cost increase for production in October.

Design & Material Strategy Shift

Brands are increasingly adopting lighter styles (less metal weight), hollowing out structures, mixing metals (for example combining gold with other materials), or offering smaller ticket items to preserve accessibility for customers. Some are turning more to gold-vermeil or gold-plated alternatives as entry points. In effect, brands are innovating to deliver the gold aesthetic while mitigating the cost rise.

Customer Perception & Value Communication

On the flip side, the rising gold price gives a brand an opportunity: customers aware of gold’s rising value may view a fine gold piece not just as jewellery but as a store of value. This can elevate your brand proposition if communicated well. Brands that emphasise their craftsmanship, heritage, ethical sourcing and the investment element of gold can turn the cost challenge into a storytelling advantage.

Strategic Responses: How I Can Help Jewellery Brands Navigate These Challenges

If you’re a jewellery brand facing the dual pressures of soaring gold costs and the need to stay competitive, I help you by crafting tailor-made pricing strategies aligned with your brand, market positioning and product mix.

Together we will:

  • Analyse your current costs & margin to understand the impact of the recent increases and identify opportunities to reduce costs and challenge assumptions about planned margins.

  • Review your pricing architecture: Using my straight-forward pricing strategy, we will analyse your market niche and create a logical architecture of price points that balances realistic cost & margin, with customer expectations. Mapping your product tiers, brand value and target customer segments will allow us to define appropriate price segments.

  • Diversify your product range: Following an analysis of your current offer, we will create a new offer strategy to spread risk and keep your entry-prices intact, taking into consideration opportunities in different quality and material options.

  • Optimise collection design: Reviewing designs and constructions to minimise costs without reducing impact can drastically improve the bigger picture.

  • Create Sourcing Strategies: We can make changes to your sourcing and stock management to reduce component and material prices and/or introduce stock and raw material strategies that allow you to be more agile and reactive in a changing market.

In short: With a specialist, brand-centric approach to pricing, you can protect margins, maintain price-point variety and strengthen your brand’s positioning even in a tougher environment. These changes present an opportunity for jewellery brands to refine their pricing strategy, upgrade their value narrative and deepen customer relationships.

K P