Gold jewellery sales down 80 per cent in Hong Kong this year as Covid-19 puts paid to weddings, birthday parties

The number of marriages in the first 10 months of 2020 fell 40 per cent, dulling demand for gold jewellery, a traditional Chinese gift for newlyweds

While jewellery sales have tanked, the price of the precious metal has gone through the roof as investors sought safety from myriad global uncertainties

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Less Hongkongers have bought gold jewellery this year as the pandemic has ruined wedding plans and other celebrations. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 8:30am, 30 Dec 2020Updated: 10:57pm, 30 Dec 2020

Gold jewellery sales in Hong Kong fell by almost 80 per cent this year as the Covid-19 pandemic spoiled countless wedding parties and other celebrations, according to an industry estimate.

As disappointed couples were forced to cancel their wedding festivities, so their guests’ plans to buy them gold jewellery as gifts – a Chinese tradition – turned to dust. Sales had already taken a pounding in 2019 as civil unrest rocked the local economy.

Though sales of jewellery have tanked this year, the price of the precious metal itself has gone through the roof as investors have bought it as a safe haven from myriad global uncertainties. It is expected to drop by up to 10 per cent in 2021, however, after climbing by almost a quarter to a record high this year, analysts predict.

One bridegroom, surnamed Cheng, had planned to buy gold jewellery for his wedding party in June, before it was postponed until December because of the outbreak. He has now had to delay his nuptials again because the pandemic is still not under control.

“I want to invite over 400 guests, including many foreign friends, to attend my wedding,” he said.