Second Headline: Mediobanca reports global jewellery trade at €130 billion in 2024; Italy rises to 11.2%, overtaking Switzerland and reshaping regional flows and investor risk.
- Price: €130 billion (global jewellery trade, 2024)
- Carat Weight: N/A — aggregated trade volume
- Origin: Global (notable shifts: Italy, China, UAE, Turkey)
- Date: Data through 2024; report cited Jan 14, 2026
The Italian jewellery sector’s ascent is more than a stylistic story: Mediobanca’s Research Area attributes a shift in global trade value from €97 billion in 2015 to €130 billion in 2024 to a redistribution of production, logistics and demand. Italy’s share climbed from 5.8% in 2015 to 11.2% in 2024, pushing past Switzerland and signaling changed routes for high-end supply chains and pricing power.
The Context: structural shifts and 2025 trends
Two forces underlie the reweighting of market share. First, production relocation to lower-cost centres (India, Thailand, Indonesia) and rising domestic demand in China have reduced that country’s export footprint — China’s share fell from 23.5% to 15.7% between 2015 and 2024. Second, new logistical and fiscal hubs such as the UAE, together with manufacturing competitiveness in Turkey and parts of South‑East Asia, have redirected flows that once ran chiefly through Switzerland.
Part of Italy’s 2024 surge was exceptional: a pronounced increase in exports to Turkey — described by sector analysts as “anomalous” — inflated year‑on‑year figures. That volatility materialised in 2025, when Italian sector exports fell 15.2% in the first nine months, driven principally by a correction after a 468.7% spike in shipments to Turkey in 2024 and a subsequent 52.2% retreat in early 2025.
These dynamics intersect with three trends that will define 2025 for buyers and brands: sustainability-driven sourcing, the shifting valuation of lab‑grown diamonds and gemstones, and a sculptural aesthetic that privileges architectural settings and materials with tactile presence — polished gold surfaces, dense chain link work and gemstones with pronounced vitreous luster. The balance between artisanal Made in Italy positioning and cost‑competitive manufacturing in Southeast Asia will be decisive for price tension and margin compression.
The Impact: what US retailers and investors should watch
For US retailers and investors the takeaway is practical and immediate. The substantial heft of the €130 billion market masks local volatility: a single trade corridor (Italy→Turkey) materially moved national shares in 2024. That creates two imperatives.
First, diversify sourcing and stress‑test supply chains. Reliance on transit hubs with volatile trade flows can amplify inventory risk and create pricing dislocations. Consider dual‑sourcing critical SKUs, and build contractual safeguards for currency and transit shocks.
Second, reassess assortment and pricing strategies. Italian product carries premium positioning — refined design, exacting finish and an implied fiscal and logistic premium — which supports higher margins if authenticity and provenance are communicated with restraint. At the same time, competitive pressure from lower‑cost manufacture and the rising UAE logistics platform can compress entry‑level luxury pricing; margin preservation will depend on clear segmentation between craft‑led pieces and volume jewellery, and on inventory turn that respects both tactile quality and capital efficiency.
Finally, monitor policy and trade signals: restrictive US measures, shifts in Chinese domestic demand, and episodic corrections in markets such as Turkey have immediate implications for cost and availability. For investors, the enlarged market value is attractive, but returns will favour actors who combine provenance, supply‑chain agility and calibrated exposure to new logistics hubs.
Source: Mediobanca Research Area; reporting by ANSA (automatic translation). Read the original article here.
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