After a stressful 2024 fraught with ongoing wars and a contentious U.S. presidential election, holiday sales ended up being a mixed lot for jewelers. Richemont reported strong sales—14%—for its jewelry brands in the fourth quarter while Mastercard SpendingPulse reported a 4% increase in jewelry sales from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24. Anecdotes from jewelry manufacturers reflect news reports.

“Generally, the year was flat or down, but holiday was very good, and most ended up for the year,” noted Valerie Fletcher, vice president of design and product development for Original Designs / ODI.

Ostbye

Theresa Namie, merchandise manager for Ostbye, heard of similar business among her retail customers. “Some really started out strong this year and some are breaking even,” she notes. “Overall, it is a good start to 2025.”

Paris 1901, a division of Prime Art & Jewel, also had a good January—the manufacturer was up 20% year over year. But February is off to a slower start.

“Our pre-Valentine’s Day business was very quiet,” says Susie Wilty, director of sales. There is a likely culprit, though. “One of our regional shows moved from January to after Valentine’s Day.” Phillip Gabriel Maroof of Royal Chain, too, reveals that his sales reps are also saying the market is a bit quieter.

“They tell me that Christmas was good but not exceptional, though tickets are up, making up for the loss of volume,” says the vice president of marketing and design. “People are cautiously optimistic, and maybe a little too worried about certain things without enough reason. For example, the price of gold and commodities’ prices—their customers aren’t saying anything about it, but the uncertainty is in their minds. An earring is $350 now instead of $300 and they tell their supplier they need to wait—for what? It’s psychological.”

Russ Whitehouse of Wilkerson Express knows this is true. According to the director of operations, wealth is out there.

“There’s money out there the newspapers can’t tell you about,” he says. “Small town America has its own economy—if those jewelers don’t replace what they’re selling they’re missing sales. Some retailers worry about the minutiae of what’s happening with Elon Musk, but great retailers know clients are coming for that amethyst ring for under $500 so they need to have it. In the first 30 days of this year, we were making big sales—diamond and colored stone bracelets that retail for $6,000 to $10,000. The perception of what’s selling is sometimes not the reality.”

Predictions for 2025 jewelry sales are truly up in the air; nobody knows how retail will shake out now that the election is over, but there are some bright spots. There is media talk of both wars possibly ending, and while gold prices are still super high, consumers’ taste for gold jewelry has somehow remained strong.

    Goldstar

“In fashion, yellow gold is still in demand, despite the price,” says Fletcher.

Tariffs are another troubling conversation for some, but thankfully not for Maroof. “We don’t produce anything in China,” he says.

And in line with Fletcher’s observations, yellow gold is also strong for Royal Chain. “Diamond-cut ‘Ice’ chains remain in demand for women and men, and electroformed gold hoop styles are constantly on reorder with our customers,” notes Maroof.