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Tuesday, 21st February 2006 (5633 views)

The US jewellery market grew for a fourth consecutive year in 2005, according to government figures quoted by IDEX.

Despite a sharp increase in gold prices during the year, US consumers continued to lap up all things sparkly as total jewellery sales rose 3.8 per cent to $59.4 billion.

The market has increased every year since 2001 and is worth almost half as much again as it was in 1996.

But growth rates have tailed off since 2003, when the annual increase stood at 6.1 per cent.

The figures include fine jewellery, estate jewellery, costume jewellery and also personal luxury items such as high-end pens. Figures are based on a consumption index run by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Fine jewellery sales also increased by 2.6 per cent during the period to $47.6 billion.

The bulk of this figure comes from sales generated by speciality watch and jewellery shops, which saw an annual increase of just 2.5 per cent.

The discrepancy is due to the entry of mass retailers into the luxury goods sector.

Wal-Mart, for instance, began selling 18-carat gold rings on its website last year for $10,000.

 

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