Tariffs and Your Jewelry

The Hidden Tax on Your Ice

You walk in the store. You see a piece you like. You check the price. It's higher than you expected.

Could be gold prices. Could be the brand. Could be something you never thought about—tariffs.

Tariffs are taxes on goods coming into a country. And right now, they're hitting the jewelry game hard.

Let's break down what's happening, who's feeling it, and what it means for your next purchase.

The Numbers Right Now

The US currently has import tariffs on jewelry from several major sources:

• 10% on goods from the UK

• 15% on goods from the European Union

• Up to 50% on imports from Brazil and China

India recently negotiated theirs down to 18% from 25%, plus an extra 25% tied to Russian oil purchases .

These numbers matter because jewelry is a global business. A brand might be based in Paris, but their gold comes from one place, their diamonds from another, their manufacturing from somewhere else. Every border crossing can add cost.

Who's Feeling It

Big brands like Bvlgari and Boucheron say they can manage. "We would have preferred not to have it, of course," Babin says. "But at least it is a factor that—unlike gold prices—is stable and easier to plan for" .

For them, tariffs are just another cost to absorb or pass along. They've got margins. They've got scale. They'll figure it out.

Smaller brands? Different story.

Take Ara Vartanian, a Brazilian jeweler with 25 years in the game. He got hit twice:

1. 50% tariffs on his Brazil-made pieces coming into the US

2. Canadian clients pulling back because of a 25% import tariff that made traveling to Miami to shop less appealing

He had to cancel his Las Vegas jewelry show appearances entirely. Not because he didn't want to be there—because the math stopped making sense .

That's the reality for smaller players. Big brands can absorb. Small brands gotta pivot or fold.

What It Means for Prices

Here's how tariffs affect what you pay.

Scenario: A European brand makes a necklace. It costs them $1,000 to produce. They want to sell it in the US for $3,000.

With a 15% tariff, they pay $450 in tax to bring it in ($3,000 × 15%).

Now they got choices:

Most brands pass some or all of it on. Margins are tight. They can't just eat thousands in taxes without adjusting prices.

So yeah—tariffs mean you pay more.

The US Market Is Still the Prize

Here's why brands keep coming even with tariffs.

The US holds about 40% of the world's millionaires . That's not a market you walk away from. That's the market you figure out how to serve.

Messika, a French jewelry brand, plans to open six new US boutiques in 2026 alone . They're absorbing costs to protect their growth because the American market is where the money moves.

Boucheron's Hélène Poulit-Duquesne puts it straight: "I need to have a brand that is a global brand, and you cannot be a global brand if you're not a significant player in the US" .

Translation: If you want to be somebody in jewelry, you gotta be in America. Tariffs or no tariffs.

The Creative Workaround

Some brands are getting creative.

If you can't avoid tariffs, you can change how you do business. For some, that means moving production. For others, it means changing what they make.

Remember Soru offering brass instead of gold-plated silver? That's adaptation. When costs go up, you find ways to deliver value at different price points .

Others are focusing on the experience rather than just the product. Invitation-only ateliers. Master classes. Gallery-style previews. Making the purchase feel special enough that the price becomes secondary .

What This Means for You

Here's the real talk.

When you see a price on a piece, you're not just paying for gold and labor. You're paying for:

• The raw materials

• The craftsmanship

• The brand

• The shipping

• The duties and tariffs at every border

• The retailer's margin

All of it adds up.

Does that mean you shouldn't buy imported jewelry? Nah. It means you should understand what you're paying for. Knowledge is power.

When a salesperson tells you why a piece costs what it costs, now you know the real conversation. You can ask about materials, origin, how tariffs affect that specific brand. You can make an informed decision instead of just guessing.

The Bottom Line

Tariffs are real. They're affecting brands big and small. They're adding cost to jewelry crossing borders.

But here's the thing—the US market is still the prize. Brands want to be here. They want your business. They're figuring out how to make it work.

For you? Keep buying what you love. Just know what you're paying for. And when prices seem high, remember—it's not just the gold. It's the whole journey that piece took to get to you.