Gold just surged to an unprecedented $3,000 per ounce mark, a new all-time high driven by escalating geopolitical tensions, investors running from inflation and currency instability. But in China, Gen Z isn’t just stockpiling gold—they’re torching it.
Amidst the country's deepest deflation in 15 years, Gen Z is melting down gold bars, cherished heirlooms, and even tiny gold beans to produce custom, bespoke jewellery pieces. And, in doing so they're transforming a centuries-old investment into a canvas for personal expression.
Forget Cartier and Tiffany's—this generation is forging its own status symbols. From their apartments.
China's Gen Z and Gold: Key Statistics
- In 2021, 59% of Gen Z expressed an inclination to buy gold, a significant increase from 16% in 2016.
- Between January and October 2023, gold and silver jewellery sales in China increased by 12%, powered in no small part by younger consumers.
- Sales of gold, silver, and jewellery reached a six-year high in December 2024, with a 29.4% year-on-year jump, indicating a robust market.
As reported by Jing Daily, DIY goldsmithing is exploding on social media. On Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote), the hashtag “goldsmithing at home” (#居家打金) has surged to 40 million views, while Douyin videos tagged “goldsmithing” (#打金) have amassed a staggering 3 billion views. What began as a niche craft movement has become a full-scale phenomenon.
Take Wumeng (@梧萌), a food blogger from Hubei province, who now documents her self-taught goldsmithing process. In one viral clip, she carefully heats a handful of gold beans nestled in a plaster mould with a high-temperature torch. Under the intense blue flame, the nuggets liquefy before being plunged into cold water, dissolving the plaster to reveal a custom-made butterfly ring.
In the gold rush, the spade sellers won. Now, as DIY goldsmithing fever grips Chinese online shopping platform, Taobao, it’s the tool merchants—selling out of melting bowls, agate knives, and polishing kits—who are cashing in.
But this is bigger trying a new hobby. It’s about a structural shift in control, luxury, wealth, and ownership.
From Luxury Branding to DIY Hedging
This trend signifies a shift in value perception among Chinese youth:
- Rejection of Fast Fashion: Disposable, trend-chasing accessories? Dead. Gen Z is opting for permanence—gold that can be reshaped and repurposed, not discarded.
- Crypto crumbled. Property is out of reach. The stock market is volatile. What’s left? Gold. A tangible, inflation-proof, old-school store of value. Notably, in 2024, China's gold jewellery demand weakened notably while investment remained robust.
- Personalised Luxury Luxury logos are meaningless. By crafting their own jewellery, Gen Z bypasses traditional luxury brands, exercising autonomy over their assets and self-expression. Why buy a £8,000 Cartier bracelet when you can melt down your own gold and make something original?
With Gen Z embracing DIY goldsmithing, does a future exist where the demand for bespoke, self-made luxury pieces threatens the allure of traditional, high-end timepieces like those from Patek Philippe?
The Evolution of Generational Wealth
Unlike previous generations who preserved gold as static wealth, today’s youth are actively reimagining it:Gold is no longer confined to safes—it’s continually transformed to reflect personal style and current trends. A practice that intertwines traditional value with contemporary design, fostering a living legacy that evolves over time. But what happens when Gen Z views luxury brands as an obstacle between them and their gold?
Implications for Luxury Brands: When Gen Z Sees You as the Middleman
Now that's an existential crisis the likes of Cartier, Tiffany's, and Bulgari aren’t ready for.
Luxury has always sold itself on exclusivity—owning a Cartier Love bracelet meant something because it wasn’t just gold, it was Cartier gold. But what happens when the next generation of consumers decides they don’t need Cartier at all?
We may be witnessing the deconstruction of all traditional luxury symbols—not just gold but diamonds, watches, even handbags. What stops Gen Z from melting down an Hermès Kelly to create something unrecognisable? If a Van Cleef Alhambra necklace can be recreated at home, does the logo still matter, or is this TikTok-fuelled debranding on steroids?
And if gold can be remade and reshaped indefinitely, what happens to other high-value materials? Will diamonds be re-cut into entirely new forms? Will the next resale trend involve melting down luxury watches for their raw materials?
Will gold become even more scarce as individuals hoard and modify their assets?
The Next Battleground: Ownership vs. Control
For centuries, ultra-wealthy collectors have treated art, wine, and real estate as investment vehicles. But is gold the next major asset class for everyday consumers? Is Gen Z treating gold the way hedge funds treat equities—something to be held, traded, and reconfigured at will?
And what happens when gold’s value moves beyond aesthetics? Gold is a key material in semiconductors. Could luxury gold hacking be next—where Gen Z repurposes gold for their own tech needs instead of jewellery?
Luxury thrives on resale value. But if Gen Z is liquidating gold jewellery instead of preserving it, does this kill the secondary luxury market?
If anyone can melt gold and make their own jewellery, does that undermine the artisanal narrative luxury brands have built for centuries?
The Brand Response: Fight or Adapt?
Luxury houses are in a precarious position. How do they respond to a generation that sees gold as a raw material, not a finished product?
- Do brands introduce proprietary blends of gold to maintain control? Think “LV Monogram Canvas,” but for precious metals—a material that you can’t just buy, melt, and remake.
- Do they pivot to subscription models for gold ownership?
- Do they introduce brand-backed gold buyback programmes to maintain influence?
- Or do they lean into the trend—offering official “melt-down” services?
But if Cartier institutionalises DIY goldsmithing, does that kill the rebellion—or legitimise it?
Forget passing down heirlooms—Gen Z is too busy melting them. Gold isn’t a status symbol anymore.
And Gen Z?
They’re (literally) holding the flame.
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