Gold & Gold Jewellery

Gold & Gold Jewellery

Jewellery Demand

Gold jewellery represents the largest source of annual demand for gold per sector.This has declined over recent decades, but it still accounts for around 50% of total demand.

India and China are by far the largest markets, in volume terms, together accounting for over 50% of current global gold demand. The Asian and Middle Eastern markets are dominated by demand for purer, high-caratage gold.

Investment demand

Gold has unique properties as an asset class. Modest allocations to gold can be proven to protect and enhance the performance of an investment portfolio. Even so, globally, gold still only makes up less than one per cent of investment portfolios.

However, this is changing and investors of all sorts are coming to accept gold as a reliable, tangible long-term store of value that has moved independently of other assets. The annual volume of gold bought by investors has increased by at least 235% over the last three decades.

Our analysis shows that gold can be used in portfolios to protect purchasing power, reduce volatility and minimise losses during periods of market shock.

Central bank demand

The past decade has seen a fundamental shift in central banks’ behaviour with respect to gold, prompted by reappraisal of its role and relevance after the 2008 financial crisis.Emerging market central banks have increased their official gold purchasing, while European banks have ceased selling, and the sector now represents a significant source of annual demand for gold. Central Banks sold 7,853 tonnes of gold between 1987 and 2009; between 2010 and 2016 they bought 3,297 tonnes.

Technology

Gold has long been central to innovations in electronics. Today the unique properties of gold and the advent of 'nanotechnology' are driving new uses in medicine, engineering and environmental management.

Gold can be used to build highly-targeted methods for delivering drugs into the human body, to create conducting plastics and specialised pigments, or advanced catalysts that can purify water or air. It has also been used in dentistry for centuries. Although most technological applications use low volumes of gold, their impacts are very diverse and wide-reaching.