The decline was primarily because of a slowdown in demand in key markets and supply constraints of diamonds. Annual jewellery consumption in Japan slipped fractionally was nearly unchanged at 15t in 2022. Rising native gold costs and a return to inflation will likely have dented shopper sentiment. Although demand in Japan has recovered from the very weak COVID-hit 2020, it has but to regain the 16-17t annual range that was typical before the pandemic. Meanwhile, premium products together with Heritage Gold jewelry continued to expand their market share. To make aware decisions and put cash into lasting ‘life-proof’ designs made…
