Jewellery and watch market to grow by 1.8%, says Mintel
Research company Mintel has estimated that the watch and jewellery market will grow by 1.8% by the end of 2014.
According to its ‘Watches and Jewellery Retailing – September 2014’ report, this year’s growth has been driven by rising consumer confidence and the expansion of the watches sector.
Gold is making a resurgence driven by a fall in the average price of gold due to the revival of the yellow gold look in fashion trends and the rising popularity of traditional styles. The average price of gold has fallen since its peak of £1,053 per ounce in 2012, and is now down 14% to £902 in the year to August 2014.
The growing trend for branded silver jewellery, charm and bead products has driven demand for silver jewellery which has also fallen in price. In Q1, hallmarked volumes of silver rose 21%.
The report also found a rise in popularity for bespoke jewellery, over a fifth (22%) of young jeweller buyers aged 16-24 like to buy precious metal jewellery they can personalise.
Other findings included that women are now more likely than men to own a watch, with ownership of watches among females at 69% compared with 62% for males. Overall, 66% of Britons own a watch.
This rise of fashion watches and the growing demand for ladies timepieces has resulted in the watches sector outperforming the jewellery market, up by 4.6% in 2014 driven by watches under £500.
