In a luxurious panorama the place “sustainability” has no single authorized or common definition, youthful consumers are creating their very own. For Millennials and Gen Z, sustainability usually means extending the life cycle of current items, buying pre-owned items reasonably than commissioning new ones. In jewellery, this ethos is fueling a rising world demand for vintage and classic designs, the place heritage craftsmanship aligns with a need for a lighter environmental footprint.
A clearer path in an ambiguous sustainability panorama
The jewellery sector, just like the broader luxurious market, operates in a grey space on the subject of environmental claims. Regulatory frameworks such because the U.S. Federal Commerce Fee’s Inexperienced Guides nonetheless go away vital room for interpretation. On this vacuum, youthful customers are turning towards items with clear origins and measurable impression discount. Vintage and classic jewellery inherently sidesteps the environmental toll of latest mining, manufacturing and large-scale manufacturing, providing a tangible various to customers cautious of greenwashing.
As jewellery designer Elaine Chong of Elaine Chong Designs factors out, “One false impression is that purchasing vintage jewellery is dangerous. However in the event you do your due diligence and purchase from a good vendor, it’s a protected and rewarding funding. I all the time encourage purchasers to analysis and ask questions; that confidence advantages everybody.”
The market’s momentum is supported by broader luxurious tendencies. The non-public luxurious items sector, which incorporates jewellery, vogue, leather-based items and watches, expanded at a compound annual progress fee (CAGR) of 5 p.c from 2019 to 2023, in line with The State of Style: Luxurious 2025 by the Enterprise of Style and McKinsey & Firm—progress usually fueled by value hikes reasonably than quantity. Because the trade enters a slower progress part (projected between one and three p.c yearly between 2024 and 2025), classes with enduring desirability and sustainable positioning, akin to jewellery, are anticipated to outperform. Analysts anticipate luxurious jewellery gross sales to develop by 4 to 6 p.c yearly between 2025 and 2027, pushed partly by a youthful, extra numerous consumer base.
Defining the market: vintage, classic and property
In world commerce, clear terminology issues. “Vintage” jewellery is usually outlined as over 100 years outdated, “classic” as 20 to 99 years outdated and “property” as any pre-owned piece, no matter age. These distinctions affect not solely appraisal values but additionally the storytelling potential that drives emotional connection. For a era in search of items that carry each magnificence and historical past, these definitions present a framework for authenticity in a market saturated with mass manufacturing.
Generational values meet heritage craftsmanship
Millennials and Gen Z method luxurious in a different way from their predecessors. Whereas earlier generations usually related luxurious with model status and newness, as we speak’s youthful consumers search particular person expression, moral sourcing and lasting high quality. Vintage and classic jewellery gives exactly that: items made in eras when craftsmanship was slower, strategies have been extra artisanal and supplies have been usually of outstanding high quality.
Sandy Jacobs of Scott Bassoff, Sandy Jacobs Antiques notes, “Older items are higher made and extra prone to not be mass produced. My prospects like distinctive items which others received’t have. Actual vintage items from the 1700s to Forties are made by artisans who usually needed to apprentice for years earlier than being allowed to make their very own gadgets. This was with out electrical energy, energy instruments and dealing solely in daylight. And these early items are so effectively crafted.”
That heritage worth is greater than technical; it’s emotional. Dorian Filip at DSF Vintage Jewellery captures the sentiment: “There’s a palpable sense of historical past in each hand-engraved element or age-worn patina. These items have been made in a time when jewellery was not simply ornamental, however symbolic—infused with inventive, cultural and emotional worth. In a world of quick vogue and fleeting tendencies, classic jewellery gives one thing enduring and emotionally wealthy.”
For Lourdes Winnick of Winnick Appraisal Providers, youthful consumers are additionally savvy strategists. “Classic usually gives higher worth, and youthful consumers know that. They’re knowledgeable and know the gold and diamond market higher than older generations. They don’t purchase jewellery pondering it should depreciate. They’re savvy consumers that perceive market tendencies.”
Andrea Friedenson of La Plus Charmante observes a shift in buying dynamics: “Most of my purchasers are Millennial and Gen Z girls shopping for jewellery for themselves. They put high quality jewellery within the ‘model important’ class and search for items that match their signature model and that are manufactured from supplies that may final perpetually. That’s an enormous change from my older consumers, who’re largely males who put high quality jewellery within the ‘luxurious present for ladies’ class.”
The position of digital tradition and social commerce
Social media has turn into a robust world driver of the pre-owned jewellery motion. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube have remodeled jewellery schooling and historical past into accessible, extremely visible storytelling.
Sophie Aarons of Sophie Jane Jewels has seen the shift firsthand: “We’ve seen a particular uptick in youthful consumers discovering jewellery on socials like Instagram and TikTok, and eager to see the jewellery in particular person. The in-person buying expertise permits for a a lot deeper connection, the place youthful consumers can converse instantly with sellers, search info, attempt on jewellery and buy as effectively. It’s been an ideal expertise for each sellers and buyers.”
This urge for food for direct engagement can also be fueling attendance at curated shopping for occasions, the place respected property sellers can supply trusted steerage and provenance perception. Reveals such because the NYC Jewellery and Object Present have turn into notably enticing to Millennials and Gen Z, who worth the chance to fulfill specialists face-to-face, ask questions and construct relationships whereas viewing uncommon items up shut.
Shari Cohen, founding father of Seal & Scribe and creator of contemporary heirloom jewels incorporating classic and vintage parts, has noticed a transparent shift in purchaser preferences: “I see youthful consumers extra desirous about chains and charms, and items which can be much less of an preliminary funding, which makes full sense as a result of at their age I too was not investing in costly jewellery. I believe lots of people construct up their collections over each time and as they mature and understand what types, eras and items converse to their soul.”
For Dana Kiyomura of Keyamour, says social platforms have expanded the enjoying area. “Social media has positively boosted vintage jewellery curiosity. Instagram is crammed with customers who promote jewellery, publish their private collections, publish what they love to take a look at, publish what they design. It’s an enormous market of sharing wishes and desires, and telling a narrative. I’ve seen fairly a couple of new sellers enter the vintage jewellery market during the last 10 years as a result of it’s now a a lot simpler enviornment to hitch. Sellers are extra accessible by way of social media, resellers should buy far more merely and create a platform to promote with simply an iPhone and a few creativity.”
This democratization of entry extends globally. Ishmael Khan, Ishy Antiques, additionally famous the impression: “I’ve seen a change post-COVID. With the arrival of TikTok, increasingly youthful collectors are getting into the market and looking for items that categorical their particular person tastes and avoid tendencies and designer names.”
From native sellers to world demand
This shift reaches far past the confines of heritage jewellery districts in New York, London or Paris. Development in on-line gross sales, digital consultations and safe worldwide delivery has opened world markets. Within the U.S. alone, the jewellery retailer trade is anticipated to succeed in an estimated $71.9 billion in income in 2025, whereas the net jewellery and watch market grew to $14.3 billion in 2024, in line with IBISWorld. In Europe and Asia, cross-border transactions by way of festivals, marketplaces and digital storefronts are more and more frequent. Markets akin to Japan, the Center East and India—predicted to expertise a number of the quickest luxurious progress over the following a number of years—are rising as promising territories for vintage and classic growth, in line with The State of Style: Luxurious 2025.
Financial and cultural drivers
The enchantment of pre-owned jewellery is each moral and financial. Many vintage and classic items supply superior worth in comparison with new gadgets, with their costs reflecting artistry and intrinsic supplies reasonably than modern branding and advertising overheads. Joseph Denaburg, Levy’s Fantastic Jewellery, factors out, “There are lots of people who need to go the classic/vintage route as a result of they view it as a extra sustainable possibility. Sure, the supplies have been at one level underground, however they have been mined many many years earlier than and recycled, and recycling what we have already got is extra sustainable than producing new supplies to create one thing new.”
Gold Charmer’s Dilan Ergench provides one other draw: “I consider the markups on vintage and classic jewellery are usually a lot decrease in comparison with model new items. With new jewellery, you’re usually paying for the price of design, labor, advertising and retail overheads, whereas with vintage items, a lot of that’s already absorbed. That value distinction is certainly a draw for a lot of prospects.”
This selection additionally means there’s something for everybody. “Each model is in development proper now; all of it will depend on the particular person,” Denaburg provides. There’s additionally an emotional pull. Ergench provides, “There’s one thing deeply romantic about proudly owning a chunk with historical past—jewellery that was as soon as cherished by another person. Usually this stuff are scarce and even considered one of a sort, and you may’t all the time be certain what number of others prefer it nonetheless exist. That uniqueness is extremely alluring.”
The connection may even start with restoration. As Winnick advises, “Begin with what speaks to you. Go to native jewellery shops and vintage malls, and see what catches your eye. If you happen to discover a piece you like that’s lacking a stone or wants restore, purchase it! A very good jeweler can deliver it again to life. If it’s well-made and significant to you, you received’t remorse the acquisition.”
Cohen underscores another excuse collectors are drawn in: “I believe that individuals who love and recognize vintage jewellery are additionally lovers of historical past, thriller and tales… every bit tells a multi-layered story that represents a historic period, in addition to the intention of the piece.”
Zuleika Gerrish of Parkin & Gerrish highlights evolving tastes, “Coloured stones deserve a point out; the youthful era is favoring coloured stones, particularly pastel colours, over conventional gems like diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. Aquamarines, pink topaz and blue zircons, in addition to the a lot lesser-known gems, are actually gaining consideration.”
Positioning in the way forward for luxurious
As the posh trade recalibrates in response to slower progress, the resilience of vintage and classic jewellery stands out. It aligns with evolving shopper priorities, heritage, individuality and environmental mindfulness, whereas sidestepping the dangers of overproduction and shifting development cycles. Millennials and Gen Z are poised to inherit an estimated $84 trillion globally by 2045, in line with Cerulli Associates, with a further $90 trillion in belongings anticipated to be transferred in the US alone between 2022 and 2045, per the agency’s US Excessive Internet Value and Extremely Excessive Internet Value Markets 2024. Their values, formed by local weather consciousness, digital tradition and a choice for authenticity, will outline the following chapter of the market.
As Gerrish observes, “True luxurious, very like outdated cash, doesn’t make loud statements. There’s growing curiosity within the ‘outdated cash’ aesthetic… it communicates quietly by way of high quality, craftsmanship and restraint. It is a key motive why youthful consumers are drawn to vintage jewellery: it’s distinctive, wealthy in historical past and conveys an ideal deal with out phrases.”
In an age looking for renewed cultural relevance, vintage and classic jewellery gives a blueprint for sustainable luxurious that’s each timeless and forward-looking. These jewels carry not simply the flicker of gems, however the layered tales of the fingers that made them and the lives they’ve adorned, providing the form of authenticity and artistry that no fashionable manufacturing line can replicate.
