As Chinese consumption of gold jewellery slumps 34%, sellers look to markets abroad: WGC

Domestic gold jewellers are seeking to leverage advanced crafting techniques as market sees turbulence, says China CEO of the World Gold Council

Chinese gold jewellers are seeking opportunities in the Middle East and India with their advanced crafting technologies, as the industry struggles amid gold price volatility, the World Gold Council (WGC) says.

At the most recent Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong fair, buyers from the two regions accounted for most of the visitors, said Wang Lixin, China CEO of the WGC, the international association for the gold industry, in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post.

The interest was driven by the increasing demand for new jewellery products amid gold price volatility and the progress of Chinese producers in so-called hard pure gold, a new product category using a crafting technique that made the jewellery thinner and harder without contributing extra weight to the gold materials, Wang added.

As consumers in the Middle East and India favoured inlaid jewellery, Wang expected Chinese jewellers could leverage the technique to find local buyers.