In partnership with Retail Jeweller, Weston Beamor asked the UK trade a simple question: what is it actually like out there right now? Retailers, designers, and makers across the industry responded. This is what they said.
- 77% say personalisation is very important for 2026
- Improving margins is the trade's number one growth priority
- 75% of customers are more likely to repurchase from brands that tell their story
- Only 38.9% are prioritising story-led branding for the year ahead
The jewellery industry is dealing with a lot at once.
Gold has risen 199% since 2020. Platinum and silver have followed. Consumers are more cautious with money, yet 1 in 5 still plan to invest in a meaningful or personalised piece in the next year. And customers are asking harder questions: where did the metal come from, who made this, can I trust the brand selling it to me?
At the same time, digital has changed how people find and buy jewellery. Social commerce is growing fast. The bar for speed and transparency keeps rising. And for everyone working the shop floor or the bench, all of this is arriving at once.
Luxury in Flux does not dress any of that up. It captures how the trade is actually experiencing it, in the words of the people living it, and turns it into something useful.
"The trade is ready to adapt, but we need to listen more closely to what customers truly seek: connection, authenticity and value." Ruth Faulkner, Managing Editor, Retail Jeweller
We asked the trade. They told us the truth.
The Luxury in Flux survey was conducted in July 2025 in partnership with Retail Jeweller. The people who responded run real businesses: independent high street retailers, designers and makers, hybrid models, and online-first brands. More than 80% have been in the trade for a decade or more. These are not opinions from the edges of the industry. They are from its backbone.
Their answers were analysed alongside research from the World Gold Council, McKinsey, PwC, Deloitte, and others. But the most useful parts of this report are the things they said in their own words. We have let those speak.
"By using these insights together, we can tackle costs, clarify ethics, and build trust, shaping a future where jewellery delivers not only beauty, but also meaning and value." Naomi Newton-Sherlock, Director, Weston Beamor
Five things the research makes clear.
1. The cost conversation is unavoidable. The trade is finding ways through it.
Rising material costs are the most cited challenge in the survey, with 68.9% calling it a major concern. Gold is up 199% since 2020. Platinum and silver have seen similar moves, driven by geopolitical pressure, industrial demand, and supply disruption. The trade's response has been practical rather than panicked. Two-thirds of jewellers now use recycled gold. Nearly half changed their material choices in the last twelve months for reasons of price, ethics, or both. Small-batch production and smarter sourcing are becoming part of the strategy, not just the backup plan.
"Materials can tell the story of quality and ethics, but volatility makes that conversation tougher." Naomi Newton-Sherlock, Director, Weston Beamor
2. Customers want jewellery that means something. That has not changed.
Craftsmanship is still what customers care about most, but personalisation sits directly behind it. One in five UK consumers plans to invest in a meaningful or personalised piece in 2026, even while watching what they spend. Self-gifting is up. 43.1% of businesses say Made in the UK matters to their customers. And 74% of consumers say jewellery is a way to express who they are.
One retailer in the survey put it simply:
"To deliver products that feel relevant to our changing lifestyles, attitudes towards relationships, identity, gifting, and celebratory moments in life."
That is the brief. The businesses answering it well are the ones customers keep coming back to.
3. Storytelling is the competitive edge the trade is not fully using.
Customers are more likely to return to brands that create story-driven experiences. That is well documented. Yet brand story ranks fourth in what businesses think customers care about, and only 38.9% are making it a priority for the year ahead.
One respondent said their biggest opportunity was:
"Narrative and storytelling around natural diamonds." Another told us their biggest success in the last year had been: "Understanding and clarifying my brand message. This has helped me to reach more of my ideal customer base."
The opportunity is sitting there. Most of the trade has not picked it up yet.
"Jewellery is more than a product. It's a story that resonates." Ruth Faulkner, Managing Editor, Retail Jeweller
4. Sustainability is being asked about more than it is being answered.
Over 54% of retailers and designer/makers are getting sourcing questions from customers. Only 34.7% feel confident answering them. The materials are usually already there: 65.9% use recycled gold, 32.3% Fairtrade, 21.6% Single Mine Origin. The story around them is what is missing.
One respondent said:
"Customers ask about Fairtrade but don't understand traceability." Another: "If the customer doesn't ask, we don't always go there, but maybe we should."
80% of consumers globally say they would pay more for sustainably sourced goods. The trade has the credentials. Telling that story clearly is where the work is.
5. Digital is where the trade is being judged, whether it is ready or not.
Growing a brand online is the second biggest priority for 2026, behind only margin improvement. One in three UK consumers already buy jewellery directly through social platforms. More than three-quarters of browsing happens on mobile. Customers are not just comparing jewellers against each other. They are measuring the experience against everything else they buy online.
One respondent described their biggest opportunity as:
"Providing customers the opportunity to shop with us however they want, in-store, online, and to provide informed in-person service which differentiates us from pure online competitors."
That is the standard the trade is being held to now.
"Digital brands thrive by balancing speed and story, but that takes the right partners." Naomi Newton-Sherlock, Director, Weston Beamor
Nine chapters. All of it Useful.
The full report goes deeper on everything above, and further. Here is what each chapter covers.
1. The New Jewellery Consumer
What is actually driving purchase decisions right now, from personalisation and self-gifting to ethics and the rise of social commerce.
2. Materials Under Pressure
How the trade is dealing with gold price volatility, the growing demand for responsible sourcing, and the debate around lab-grown stones.
3. The Experience Gap
The distance between what customers value and what businesses are prioritising. What it costs to leave it there.
4. The Retailer's Reality
What independent and heritage jewellers are getting right, and what the pressure on stock, speed, and bespoke services actually looks like day to day.
5. Digital and DTC Brand Growth
What building a direct relationship with customers really demands in 2026, from social selling to keeping the story consistent across every channel.
6. Designing in an Era of Emotion
Why meaning has become the thing customers are really buying, and what that asks of designers and retailers in practice.
7. Innovation Watch
Where CAD, 3D printing, and AI-aided design are genuinely helping the trade work smarter, without losing what makes the craft worth having.
8. What the Trade Needs Now
The priorities that cut across every part of the industry, and what separates businesses that are adapting well from those that are still catching up.
9. The Weston Beamor Commitment
What 75 years of manufacturing, responsible sourcing, and working alongside the trade actually means, and where we go from here.
We are part of this industry too.
Since 1947, Weston Beamor has worked alongside retailers, brands, and designers to help them make exceptional jewellery. The pressures in this report are not abstract to us. We feel them too.
We commissioned Luxury in Flux because the trade deserved better than generic trend reports written at a distance. Jewellers needed to hear from their peers, not from analysts. So we asked, and we listened.
We are RJC certified. We work with Single Mine Origin partners and offer recycled gold as standard. We believe the industry is stronger when it shares what it knows. That is why the report is free.
Weston Beamor has been casting precious metals since 1947. Working with a broad spectrum of customers for nearly 80 years has made Weston Beamor one of the most respected and trusted names in the jewellery industry.
