Sitting On a Gold Mine?

Gold at an all-time high, natural diamonds and ruby values still on the up. Welcome to jewellery valuations in 2025 – with the jewellery market moving and shifting at great speed, it can sometimes be difficult to keep up! Which is why it is so important you have your appraisals up to date.

As we write, Comex Futures determines that the gold price for today (20 June 2025) is $3,379 (£2,505.53) per ounce. This is an increase of 43.5% in the last year, and a staggering 93.5% in the past five years.

Why the continuous rise? Let’s explore a few key areas impacting jewellery value and market trends, and what it could mean to you.

Market trends

Gold values

Small time gold buyers have sprung up all over the country and are making the most of the increasingly high gold bullion price.

Look at any jewellery auction across the country this year, and every heavy gold piece will have early offers, ahead of the actual auction!

Diamond value

Lab-grown diamonds (manufactured diamonds) have become significantly more affordable compared to their natural counterparts. For example, a De Beers ring set with a brilliant-cut diamond weighing 0.51 carat, G colour and VS1 clarity retails for circa £5,900. Pandora offers the same diamond, but lab-grown for circa £825*. There’s no denying the lower price tag is attractive.

It is generally accepted that lab grown diamonds currently change hands for about 5-15% of their natural counterparts. These types of diamonds are here to stay and have found a home in the Bridal and costume jewellery market. This has consequently reduced the value for smaller, natural, lower quality diamonds. However, the smart minds will be watching the bigger, higher quality natural stone prices. That is diamonds over 3ct, G/H colour and above with a good cut and proportions. Why? Because these will be in smaller and smaller supply in the coming years – and we are already seeing the effect at the point of sale both on the high street and at auction. 

The stock of the better-quality stones may well start to dry up due to the convulsing diamond industry, and therefore those prices will rise.

Ecommerce

Another shift is the confidence in online shopping and the rise of E-Commerce. Consumers will spend a great deal more without seeing the item than they did prior to Covid. According to data from World Metrics, online jewellery sales in the UK increased by 35% in 2020 compared to the previous year.

Luxury brands – return on investment

There are also no signs of slowing down for the purchase of luxury brands. When it comes to branded pieces, such as De Beers or Tiffany & Co., it still seems to be a safe investment with the return on investment definitely worth the waiting for.

Rubies and sapphires

Rubies and sapphires have seen some big increases. If you have purchased sizable gemstones in the 1960s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s then these gems will be very attractive to the market. There are simply not enough to fill demand.

We spoke to Rachel Doerr, Managing Director of Doerr Dallas Valuations regarding market trends, who commented “we advise all clients with significant jewellery collections to regularly review the valuations as the gold and precious stones are increasing in values so quickly”. 

Your next steps?

• Revalue your jewellery – Because jewellery is the product of so many moving parts, it is essential to revalue your jewellery collection on a regular basis. Values may increase sharply, so our recommendation would be to get an official revaluation at least every 24 months.
• Applying generic inflation percentages as a tool to update valuations – this would be unwise and could lead to jewellery being under (or over) insured.
• And while your specialist is revaluing, make sure every clasp and setting of stones is checked. A lost stone has monetary value but, in most cases, the emotional attachment to the piece makes the gem priceless and irreplaceable.
• Report your revised valuations to your insurer – without an accurate valuation you could find any claim could be problematic without one.   

 * Comparison undertaken on De Beer and Pandora websites