In recent years, the price of gold has been soaring, severely impacting the plans of young Chinese couples preparing for marriage to purchase traditional “three gold” and “five gold” items, and profoundly changing their consumption habits. Faced with high costs, “buying fake gold” and “renting gold” have become the reluctant choices for soon-to-be-wed individuals. In order to survive the cold winter of gold jewelry consumption, some gold jewelry companies have had to introduce services such as “gold rental” to rescue themselves.
2022 saw international gold prices in the range of over 300 yuan per gram. Since the end of last year, international gold prices have been continuously soaring, now reaching over 700 yuan per gram or even higher. Leading jewelry brands such as Chow Tai Fook and Lukfook saw prices of gold jewelry skyrocketing to thousands of yuan per gram at one point. The cost of purchasing “three gold” and “five gold” items has doubled compared to three years ago. For example, a set of 50 grams of gold necklace, bracelet, and ring cost around 26,500 yuan in 2022, but soared to 54,000 yuan in 2025, a 103% increase.
In Chinese traditional wedding customs, the “five gold” items required include gold rings, gold necklaces, gold earrings, gold bracelets, and gold pendants. According to customs in Guangdong and Fujian provinces, on the day of the wedding ceremony, the bride is required to wear intricately crafted items like pig-faced ornaments, dragon and phoenix bracelets, phoenix hairpins, phoenix rings, and earrings.
The high price of gold is impacting the plans of young couples preparing for marriage to buy “three gold” and “five gold”, as well as influencing traditional wedding customs and marriage concepts. Discussions on social media platforms in mainland China about whether it is still necessary to purchase “three gold” items are continuously emerging.
According to a report from “Everyday People” on July 2nd, many people are choosing to not purchase the traditional “three gold” and “five gold” items necessary for weddings. Instead, they opt to give cash to the woman or seek alternatives. Two weeks ago, 29-year-old Ouyang Yi from Guangzhou completed her wedding. On the wedding day, she wore elaborate gold jewelry, including a phoenix hairpin, pig-faced ornament, and dragon and phoenix bracelets. Besides herself and her husband, no one knew that the three pairs of dragon and phoenix bracelets she wore on her wrist were made of fake gold, costing only 348 yuan.
Before that, she had considered renting the gold items. However, to keep it a secret from her family, she needed to ensure that the jewelry could be readily available at home for an extended period. If she chose to rent, she couldn’t guarantee the duration, and the costs would rise accordingly. Secondly, the quality of the rental gold directly affected the rental price. If she rented high-quality gold items, she might even need to pay several thousand yuan. After careful consideration, she opted for a more cost-effective solution, buying fake gold.
Sensen, a girl living in Luoding, Guangdong, used pig-faced ornaments and dragon and phoenix bracelets purchased for 150 yuan on Pinduoduo on her wedding day. She mentioned, “Renting ‘three gold’ items is not cost-effective. It’s better to buy a real one and use the money saved to buy sand gold.”
A gold rental shop in Longgang, Shenzhen, stated that this month, a girl from Shijingshan, Beijing, rented six pieces of jewelry in one day, with the rental fee exceeding 2,000 yuan.
However, as gold prices rise, the consumption of high-premium jewelry declines; while gold prices surge, gold shops are facing closure due to increased procurement costs and compressed profits. According to disclosed financial data, several gold jewelry companies experienced declines in revenue and net profits in the first quarter of this year, with China Gold’s net profit attributable to the mother company decreasing by 62.96%, and Old Phoenix and Zhou Dasheng seeing declines of over 20% in net profit attributable to the mother company.
It is currently a consensus in the industry that retailing gold jewelry is challenging. Ye Bin from Changsha has been engaged in gold wholesale in Shuibei, Shenzhen for nearly eight to nine years, and he operates his own factory. From the end of 2023 to 2024, Shuibei market in Shenzhen experienced its best business period, with Ye Bin’s factory working overtime. However, there has been a reduction in orders lately, and the workers have transitioned to a 9-6-5 schedule, with no overtime on weekends and sometimes not even working in the afternoons on weekdays.
Since the beginning of this year, Ye Bin has opened a store on the first floor of a building in Shuibei, directly catering to consumers and selling gold jewelry. Business was decent during the May Day holiday, thanks to the peak of weddings and Mother’s Day consumption stimulation. However, after the May Day holiday, sales plummeted dramatically.
The gold jewelry counter at Modern Department Store in Tianhe City Center, Guangzhou, was empty. The store closest to the exit had a sign that read: “Wedding Jewelry Rental.” This store had just opened two months ago.
Amid business and environmental pressures, offering gold rental services has become a survival strategy for gold shops.
Compared to the sparse customer flow in gold retail stores, there are long lines in front of gold recycling shops. Many people are collecting old gold items from their homes to sell, especially after getting married when the three gold and five gold items have become redundant due to the higher prices.
However, there is intensifying competition within the industry. A user on Zhihu, known as “Shuibei Jewelry Old Driver,” noted that in the past, one had to search for specialized gold recycling stores to sell gold. “Now, by simply opening your phone, you will find various options for gold recycling, and they can even come directly to your home. Moreover, the price is calculated based on the market rate. How can this be sustainable?”
Furthermore, due to concerns about holding onto high-priced gold, many businesses opt for “same-day delivery upon collection,” sending a portion back to the Shanghai Gold Exchange and the majority to gold processing plants as raw materials. The fluctuating market conditions have made gold recycling businesses apprehensive about keeping gold overnight, likening it to betting on the next day’s market.
In addition to renting gold, some people choose to bring out their old stock to have it made into new jewelry, while others opt for cashing out the agreed upon sum in a different manner.