US Jewelry Sales Climbed Another 3.5% in July, Tariffs Impact
US jewelry sales increased 3.5% in July, overcoming the summer doldrums and continuing the positive jewelry trend of H1 2025. Historically, July is a slow jewelry retail month, second only to January. However, this year, revenue in July outpaced most other months in 2025, giving reason for a cautiously optimistic outlook for the rest of the calendar year.
These are challenging times for manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers almost everywhere. The prospect of double-digit tariffs, added to existing customs duties and rising international shipping costs, is looming. Tariffs, mind you, are a tax placed by one country on goods and services imported from another in order to exert influence, increase revenue, or safeguard competitive advantages. Basically a trade barrier.
This is expected to have a significant impact on US jewelry sales, especially if goods manufactured in India will be subject to a 50% tariff.
And yet, US retailers are not stocking up on jewelry, and consumers are not rushing to the jewelry stores either. Year to date, inventories are up mid- to high single digits, which is below the high single- to double-digit growth seen in the last few years.
Total US jewelry sales by unit are decreasing, indicating that consumers are either concerned about the economic outlook or expect prices to come down once final tariffs are set.
In either case, paired with a decline in demand for lower-priced items and an increase in average consumer expenditure, lower-spending consumers are deferring purchases while higher-spending consumers continue to buy.
Retailer Purchases Spell Tariff
After months of decreasing their intake, retailers increased their purchases by nearly 10% in July. That led to a rise in inventory as US jewelry sales declined.
More importantly, their purchase costs of finished jewelry shot upwards more than 20%, as the average cost per item rose 12% year over year. This is clearly a tariff-induced hike.
US Jewelry Sales Trends Up
In July, finished jewelry sales revenue increased 5%. The average price of items sold, with consumers gravitating towards higher-priced items.
The increased prices caused by the new tariffs have deterred many buyers, resulting in a significant drop in unit sales over the last three months.
The decline in unit sales included every jewelry category except bracelets. Based on Tenoris’ diamond sales data, diamond jewelry unit sales declined more than 8%, while sales revenue was flat year over year.
Diamond Sales Show Tariff Impact
Along with the sluggish demand for polished diamond jewelry, there remained a low demand for loose natural diamonds. In July, loose diamond sales dropped by double digits.
Tariffs have had an impact on the cost of loose diamonds for retailers. According to Tenoris diamond sales data, the average purchase cost of loose diamonds increased 14% year on year in July. The effect on US diamond consumption is something to be concerned about.
The average retail price of diamonds rose 6%, indicating that retailers have yet to pass on the increased cost to buyers.
Tenoris US Jewelry Sales Data
The US jewelry market is an unusually fragmented one, posing challenges to identifying changes in consumer demand, retailer inventory, and pricing trends.
Tenoris is a trend analytics company that specializes in the US jewelry retail market. Tracking more than $20 billion in retail sales by jewelry retailers, we are the premier data source for US jewelry sales data. If you want to get the insights that will help you improve your competitiveness, contact us to request a demo today.