High Premium for French Gold Jewelry in Japan

October was an especially good month for French jewelry manufacturers exporting to Japan. While they represented only a minor source of gold jewelry for the Island country in terms of weight, in value they represented a quarter of total imports.

French goods carry a high premium in the recovering Japanese market, which has a growing appetite for branded goods. And the French goods are out performing the Italian goods in price per weight.

Imports of gold jewelry to Japan grew 15 percent in October compared to last year. The country imported 2,786.338 kg (6,143 lb) valued at $83.59 million, an average of $30 per gram.

France, the source of 144.781 kg of the goods in October, represented 5.2 percent of total imports during the month. However, in terms of value, the figure jumped to 25.2 percent of total imports at $21.035 million.

By comparison, goods imported from the Italian market, an important jewelry center, represented 25.8 and 24.1 percent in weight and value, respectively.

But while imports from France and Italy declined in weight over 30 percent compared to last year, in value the French items registered a 28.3 percent boost, as Italian exporters saw the value of their goods decline 16.6 percent.

The upward trend of French gold jewelry is not limited to October. The trend has been building over the course of several months. In September, France exported 115.185 kg representing 6.7 percent of total Japanese gold jewelry imports, worth $11.417 million; a 22.6 percent share of imports during that month.

Since November 2004 exports in weight have been slowly declining, while value has gradually grown. The big exception came in May when by weight imports jumped to an uncharacteristic 19 percent share, pulling up the value to a 31.3 percent share at $23.4 million.