The decline in the US jewelry sector continues, with yet another drop in the number of retail, wholesale and manufacturing businesses.
The total number fell by 3.4 per cent – just under 800 businesses – to 22,330 year-on-year, according to the latest update from the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT), which provides commercial credit information. The figures take account of both closures and new business openings.
The figure for the previous quarter, Q4 2024, was -3.2 per cent, and for Q3 2024 it was -3.3 per cent, indicating a steady rate of decline.
The biggest fall in Q1 2025 was among jewelry manufacturers, down 4.6 per cent to 2,119. The number of retailers fell 3.5 per cent, down to 16,959 and the number of wholesalers fell 2.5 per cent to 3,252.
JBT reported the opening of 68 new retail jewelers in the US during Q1.
Chow Sang Sang suffered a net loss of 74 of its 1,032 stores last year, amid weak demand, record-high gold prices and an economic slowdown in China, as well as Hong Kong and Macau.
China’s third biggest jewelry retailer (by revenue) saw sales for the year to 31 December 2024 fall by 15 per cent to HKD 21.18bn ($2.72bn).
Same-store sales were down 38 per cent on the mainland and 24 per cent in Hong Kong and Macau, primarily due to a drop in diamond demand. Profit slid 20 per cent to HKD 805.6m ($103.6m).
Chow Sang Sang did not rule out further store closures. “Under the present economic climate, it would be prudent to continue our physical store network consolidation,” it said its Annual Results.
“In 2024, uncertain economic conditions coupled with record-high gold price exerted significant pressure on jewellery demand in both Mainland China, and the Hong Kong and Macau markets, resulting in a 15 per cent year-on-year decline in turnover.
“Continuing our efforts to consolidate the store networks, we opened 48 and closed 122 stores, mostly in Mainland China.”
Costco sells 6.5-carat diamond rings worth nearly $US400,000 amid the bulk groceries and home goods that lure bargain seekers to its warehouse stores.
Sky News reporter Jennifer Bechwati tweeted Sunday that she found a diamond ring costing 499,999.99 AUD (or roughly $388,900 USD) at a Costco store in Australia “between bulk AA batteries and dustpans.”
She posted a photo of the round-cut ring that listed its weight as 6.55 carats with colour and clarity of “G” and “VS1,” respectively. The diamond was set in a platinum band.
It turns out that the warehouse chain sells a host of expensive diamonds in stores and online. Costco’s US website lists 303 diamond rings with stones as big as 10 carats. Prices range from $US159 to $US420,000.
Shoppers might not expect to find such expensive rings in stores, but a Costco spokeswoman told the Daily Mail that every one of its warehouses has at least one “WOW” item in its jewellery department.
Some people commented online that the colour and clarity of the 6.55-carat stone could be better for the price. A search online at James Allen, another diamond retailer, shows a diamond with a similar cut, clarity, and colour for $US354,000, or about $US34,000 cheaper than the Costco ring.
Costco was ordered to pay the jewellery company Tiffany more than $US19 million last year for selling about 2,500 rings falsely identified on store signs as “Tiffany” rings. Costco argued that the description referred to the rings’ settings, and wasn’t meant to be confused with Tiffany’s brand.
