Market evolution: Precious metal jewellery (CN 7113) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report examines the evolution of EU trade in articles of jewellery and parts thereof, of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal (CN 7113), over the period 2015–2025. The product definition encompasses three sub-categories: silver jewellery (711311), jewellery of other precious metals such as gold or platinum (711319), and base metal clad with precious metal (711320). Over the decade under review, the EU consolidated its position as a major net exporter of precious metal jewellery, with exports nearly doubling in value while imports grew at a much slower pace. The period was shaped by structural shifts in trading partners — notably the post-Brexit reconfiguration of EU–UK flows — a strong move upmarket reflected in rising unit values, and increasing geographic diversification of trade.

1. A Resilient Export Superpower: The EU's Expanding Trade Surplus

EU exports grew far faster than imports, widening the trade surplus dramatically

Over the 2015–2025 period, the EU's external trade in precious metal jewellery displayed a clear asymmetry between exports and imports. Export value rose from €9.26 billion to €18.38 billion — a 98.5% increase — while import value grew from €5.47 billion to €7.54 billion, a more modest 37.9% rise. As a result, the trade balance expanded from €3.79 billion to €10.83 billion, an increase of 185.9%.

This growing surplus underscores the EU's structural competitiveness in high-value precious metal jewellery, driven by the luxury and craftsmanship traditions of its leading producer countries.

Export volumes grew modestly, while unit values surged — a clear upmarket shift

A striking feature of the decade is the divergence between physical volumes and export values. While export quantity in net mass rose only 20.8% (from 1,212 to 1,465 tonnes), the average export price per tonne climbed 64.2% — from €7.60 million to €12.49 million per tonne. This implies that the value growth was predominantly driven by price increases rather than volume expansion, consistent with a move toward higher-value products (heavier gold content, gem-set pieces, branded luxury items) and with the general rise in precious metal prices over the period.

By contrast, import unit values rose more gently (16.8%), and import quantities grew 18.7%, suggesting that the import side remained more oriented toward standardised or mid-range products.

Domestic production nearly doubled, confirming the EU's manufacturing strength

EU production value for CN 7113 increased from €2.90 billion to €5.14 billion (+77.1%), confirming that the export boom was underpinned by genuine manufacturing growth, not merely re-export or transit trade. The export propensity — exports as a percentage of production — rose from 147.6% to 394.3%, indicating that EU-based jewellers became progressively more reliant on external markets and that a growing share of exports consisted of imported materials transformed domestically.

2. Shifting Geographies: Brexit, Turkey's Rise, and Diversification

The United Kingdom's role collapsed on both sides of the ledger, reshaped by Brexit

The most dramatic geographic shift was the decline of the United Kingdom as a trading partner. UK imports into the EU fell 35.8% (from €445 million to €286 million), and EU exports to the UK dropped 56.5% (from €1.43 billion to €620 million). In 2015, the UK was the EU's top export destination; by 2025, it had fallen to fourth place, overtaken by Switzerland, the United States, and Hong Kong.

The UK's decline is almost certainly linked to Brexit, which introduced customs formalities, rules-of-origin requirements, and regulatory divergence from January 2021. Notably, the volatility of EU–UK import flows was extreme, with a coefficient of variation of 2.95 — the highest among all import partners — reflecting large year-to-year swings likely tied to transitional adjustments and stockpiling effects around the Brexit deadline.

Türkiye emerged as the EU's leading import source, surpassing traditional suppliers

The most striking growth story on the import side was Türkiye, which saw EU imports surge 242.3% — from €261 million to €894 million — making it the single largest source of non-EU jewellery imports by 2025. Türkiye's well-established gold jewellery manufacturing base, competitive labour costs, and customs union with the EU for industrial goods facilitated this growth. India (+154.8%) and China (+107.9%) also saw strong gains, reflecting the growing role of Asian manufacturing in the mid-market and fashion jewellery segments.

Export destinations diversified, with the United States becoming a key growth market

On the export side, the United States became an increasingly important market, with EU exports rising 164.4% to over €2 billion by 2025. Switzerland remained the dominant partner (€5.47 billion), reflecting its role as a global precious metals and jewellery hub, with significant processing and re-export activity. Mexico (+171.4%) and the United Arab Emirates (+53.2%) also expanded notably, pointing to growing demand in Latin American and Gulf luxury markets.

Import and export concentration both fell, signalling more diversified trade patterns

The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) for imports fell from 3,036 to 1,785 (−41.2%) and for exports from 1,816 to 1,368 (−24.6%). Both values moved from moderate to low concentration, indicating that the EU reduced its dependence on any single trading partner over the decade. This diversification enhances the sector's resilience to bilateral trade disruptions.

3. Product Composition, Specialisation, and Market Structure

Gold and platinum jewellery (711319) dominated exports and drove value growth

The product segment breakdown reveals that jewellery of precious metals other than silver (CN 711319 — predominantly gold and platinum) was the overwhelmingly dominant category on the export side, accounting for roughly 93% of export value throughout the period. In 2025, CN 711319 exports stood at €17.25 billion, while silver jewellery (711311) contributed €1.06 billion and base-metal-clad jewellery (711320) just €69 million.

Silver jewellery was the primary import category by volume, while gold jewellery led by value

On the import side, silver jewellery (711311) was consistently the largest category by weight, reaching over 1,000 tonnes in 2025. However, gold and platinum jewellery (711319) dominated import value at €6.43 billion in 2025 (85% of total import value). The unit value gap is enormous: gold/platinum jewellery commanded import prices roughly 40 times higher per tonne than silver jewellery, reflecting the intrinsic metal value difference.

Italy and France anchored EU specialisation, while the market became more geographically dispersed within the EU

The specialisation data for 2025 confirms that Italy and France were by far the most specialised EU producers, with revealed symmetric comparative advantage (RSCA) indices of 0.60 and 0.43 respectively. Italy alone accounted for 32.4% of EU production and was the dominant exporter (€9.10 billion in 2025, +96.1% vs. 2015). France contributed 19.7% of production and exported €5.63 billion (+65.6%).

Notably, Ireland and the Netherlands saw extraordinary growth in reported exports (+2,471% and +2,255% respectively), from very low bases. This may partly reflect re-routing of trade flows or the growth of logistics and distribution hubs, rather than a commensurate increase in domestic jewellery manufacturing.

Price shocks in 2022 signalled the impact of geopolitical and macroeconomic turbulence

The shock detection analysis identified several notable events. The most significant was a price shock in EU exports to the United States in 2022, with a 45.2% unit-value shift and an abnormality score of 19.8. This coincided with the post-pandemic luxury demand surge, elevated gold prices (driven partly by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and inflation hedging), and strong US consumer spending on luxury goods. An earlier price shock in EU exports to China in 2020 (abnormality 6.2, shift +301.2%) likely reflected the extreme disruption of Covid-19 on bilateral trade volumes, which depressed physical flows and temporarily inflated unit values.

Conclusion

Over 2015–2025, the EU precious metal jewellery sector (CN 7113) underwent a profound transformation characterised by three main dynamics. First, the EU's export capacity strengthened dramatically — trade surplus nearly tripled, driven largely by value growth rather than volume expansion, pointing to a successful upmarket positioning of European jewellery, particularly from Italy and France. Second, the geographic map of trade was redrawn: Brexit sharply diminished the UK's role as both a source and destination, Türkiye emerged as the dominant import supplier, and the US became a critical growth market for exports, while overall trade became more diversified and less concentrated. Third, the product mix remained firmly anchored in gold and platinum jewellery on the export side, with silver jewellery playing a secondary but steady role, especially in imports by volume.

Looking ahead, the sector's high export propensity (394% of production) and strong specialisation in a few EU member states suggest both opportunity and risk. The concentration of production in Italy and France — while underpinned by irreplaceable brand equity and craftsmanship — could become a vulnerability in the face of energy cost shocks, supply chain disruptions, or shifts in global luxury demand. Meanwhile, the growing role of Türkiye, India, and China as import suppliers warrants monitoring for dependency risks, even as the declining HHI signals healthy diversification at the aggregate level.