As the U.S. luxury sector navigates uncertain waters from election-year volatility to looming tariff threats on European goods, not all categories are sinking. In fact, one is gleaming.
While handbags and ready-to-wear battle pricing fatigue, jewellery has quietly emerged as a resilient standout, capturing both emotional value and investment appeal among high-end consumers. Citi’s latest credit card data shows a clear tilt in spending, not across the board, but in how Americans are redefining value in luxury.
In an environment where price precision matters more than ever, understanding what drives the quiet growth of categories like jewelry becomes a strategic edge. Subtle signals like these are what forward-thinking brands now monitor closely not just with intuition, but with intelligence.
- In May, luxury jewelry spending rose 10.1% year-over-year, continuing a growth streak that began in September 2024.
- Unlike handbags and watches with decreasing customer numbers jewellery saw both more customers and higher spends. While some premium brands lost ~2.7% of buyers, remaining clients spent 11.7% more on average, indicating an affluent, committed segment.
What’s Driving Jewellery’s Strength?
Two key factors stand out:
- Intrinsic and Emotional Value Citi analyst Thomas Chauvet observes that a $3,000 spend on a Cartier bracelet may offer more “intrinsic value” through precious metals and sentimental resonance than a handbag. The gold price surge (+25% in 2025) reinforces this logic while jewellery price increases have remained modest (<5%).
- Luxury Fatigue in Other Categories Handbag prices have soared 30–40% since the pandemic, yet product refreshes have failed to match. Consumers increasingly view handbags as less rewarding relative to cost . Meanwhile, luxury watch sales remain inconsistent even with a 14.7% rise in aggregate spend, top brands are experiencing a 10% drop due to forecasting hedging against possible Swiss tariffs.
Citi analyst Thomas Chauvet told CNBC that sales have likely been buoyed by the perception of jewellery as investment pieces. Jewellery can also carry more sentimental value, he said, as a gift or to commemorate a life milestone.
The Broader Luxury Picture
Luxury spending overall remains fragile:
- Credit card data shows a 1.7% decline in May, recovering from steeper 8.5% and 6.8% drops in March and April respectively.
- U.S. consumer spending is slowing under inflation and economic pressures including potential tariffs and energy cost shocks.
Sources: CNBC, The Independent, Citi
When Insight Becomes Competitive Advantage
For luxury brands, this shifting landscape highlights:
- Category-level segmentation: Jewellery operates under different dynamics than handbags or watches; resale value, metal backing, and emotional resonance play distinct roles.
- Pricing transparency signals: When prices surge disproportionately (e.g., handbags +30–40%), consumer trust is tested. Price intelligence helps identify these stress points in real time.
- Resale ecosystem impact: Jewellery’s upward trajectory mirrors its investment status. Monitoring secondary market pricing helps brands read market sentiment and anticipate future trends.
- Risk management via signals: Tracking grey-market behaviour, resale values, and country-level price spreads empowers brands to adapt before consumers disengage.
In Summary
Luxury’s resilience in 2025 lies not in broad recovery, but in subtle recalibration, especially in jewellery. As consumer preferences evolve, only brands that understand category-specific value, monitor pricing shifts, and interpret market signals will hold their narrative and trust.
At Data&Data, we specialize in these quiet signals, helping brands detect value shifts, preserve equity, and act with precision in a fragmented marketplace.
Discover more: www.data-and-data.com
