Introduction

A buyer takes a ring in hand, looks at the tag, asks to see a lighter option — and sometimes leaves with silver instead of gold. Such an episode does not enter the reporting, but it explains 2025 well. Sokolov put the market at 493.3 billion roubles: that is +7.3% year on year after 25.6% in 2024. There was more money in the till; about 89 million pieces were sold, roughly 3% fewer. The average ticket rose to 10 075 roubles, or 11%. Demand did not vanish; it became more cautious in quantity and dearer in roubles.

For retail the formula “the market is growing” is not enough. In turnover, the metal price, weight, discount, assortment, gift dates and a change of channel work at once. A chain can add revenue and lose purchase frequency. A brand can collect units with silver and marketplaces, and money with gold, stones and rare expensive occasions. In Q1 2026 this mechanics stayed in place: the market added 3.9%, the average ticket was 10 806 roubles (+6.8%).

This text is about the structure of retail: metal, number of pieces, basket, chains and channels. Diamonds here are part of a wider product picture. Their origin and competition on the counter are unpacked in the note on natural and grown stones, and demand for jewellery with diamonds — in the diamond market analysis.

Method and sources

This is a desk review of open publications by Sokolov, the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Assay Chamber, Data Insight, trade media, ALROSA, MIUZ and manufacturers, not an audit of companies and not BrillPulse’s own statistical panel. Each indicator stays in the time window in which the primary source or the editors gave it.

So Sokolov’s estimate of 493.3 billion roubles cannot be added to the Ministry of Finance’s “up to 540 billion roubles”: these are alternative methodological frames of one market. Online figures should be read with the same caution: internet-sales turnover, brand-site sales and marketplace turnover may overlap, cover different periods and different types of order. Below, a fact is a directly published magnitude; a conclusion links facts without adding new percentages. Hypotheses are taken out separately and given conditions for falsification.

Money grows, units contract

In 2025 the market on Sokolov’s estimate gave 493.3 billion roubles (+7.3%), the average ticket 10 075 roubles (+11%), quantity about 89 million units (about −3%). Three lines tell not of a surge in physical demand, but of a dearer purchase and a change in its composition. Turnover itself does not answer whether people started buying more jewellery: price, weight, material, setting and discount are mixed in it.

In early 2026 the picture did not invert: +3.9% in money, ticket 10 806 roubles (+6.8%). This is a seasonal quarterly cut, not a year-end. Still, it supports the same conclusion: retail is so far finding revenue in a dearer basket, and this set has no proof of an expansion of physical demand.

Silver, gold and polarisation of the basket

Metal became the most visible editor of the price tag. Sokolov noted an 8.7% fall in unit sales of gold jewellery and a 21.8% fall in gold-category turnover. The Bank of Russia reported gold prices up 25% and silver up 89% in the corresponding comparisons. This is not a calculation of the retail tag: labour, setting, margin, inventory and promotions remain in it. But the dearer the gram, the harder the buyer chooses among weight, design and the fact of purchase itself.

Silver took about 71% of unit sales in the contour of pieces of natural gold and silver. That is the industry’s mass base: a small gift, an everyday refresh, a purchase on promotion. Gold does not disappear, but it is more often tied to a rarer and dearer occasion. In money the two categories have different weight, so silver’s share in units cannot be turned into a conclusion about a refusal of gold.

Hence the talk of polarisation. In one part of the window — an accessible frequent purchase, in the other — a gift, status, a stone, service and a high ticket. The most nervous stretch is the middle. The corridor of 80–120 thousand roubles, whose divergence Grant spoke of, is not empty, yet the buyer here checks the price especially carefully against what they get. A noticeable design, understandable quality or a brand story is needed. The formula “mid-level gold jewellery” less and less persuades on its own.

Channels: online, marketplace, offline

On Data Insight figures, internet sales of jewellery in the 2024 frame were estimated at about 137 billion roubles. For the first half-year, 66.2 billion roubles, 3.7 million orders and an average ticket of about 18 thousand roubles are given. That is a substantial digital contour, but it cannot without adjustments be equated to the aggregate 2025 market or to one brand’s sales.

In Q1 2026 the e-commerce share of jewellery retail was estimated at 30.6%, the marketplace share at 14.9%. These magnitudes show that a marketplace is a noticeable part of the digital channel, but not all of online. A brand site, an app, delivery, a store hold and a platform have different economics of data, returns and consultation.

For a first purchase or a piece with a complex setting, offline remains the place where doubts are taken off: fit, metal colour, size, setting and documents are looked at. Online is strong in search, assortment, a repeat order and price transparency. Omnichannel here is measured not by the number of logos on platforms, but by the match of price, availability, description and certificate between the screen and the store.

Data Insight also published brand-online indicators for 2025: Sunlight — 42.9 billion roubles (+71%) at a ticket of 8,720 roubles; Sokolov — 14.7 billion at a ticket of 11,590 roubles; 585 Zolotoy — 8.1 billion at a ticket of 14,430 roubles; MIUZ — 8.1 billion at a ticket of 67,670 roubles. These values show well the difference of baskets and positioning, but they are not a ranking of chains’ total turnover: this is Data Insight’s chosen online cut.

Brand formats and the premium contour

Different online-brand tickets help see polarisation without inventing segment boundaries. A low or mid ticket does not mean a weak brand: it may match purchase frequency, a wide assortment and promotions. MIUZ’s high ticket in the stated sample is consistent with a dearer offer, but by itself says nothing about margin, number of buyers or all of offline revenue.

In the premium and natural contour, public signals are uneven. ALROSA reported jewellery-revenue growth of 32% in publications on 2024; at Alrosa Diamond Exclusive — 132%; sales of investment diamonds grew 25%, and the number of deals 20%. These indicators describe the company’s own projects and are not equal to the whole premium market of Russia.

Manufacturer Grant reported a shift of demand toward mid and large natural polished stones, a threefold increase in the average diamond weight in jewellery, and a divergence of the 80–120 thousand rouble corridor. That is a valuable qualitative signal that the middle may split up and down, but it cannot be turned into a market-wide share without an independent panel.

MIUZ builds communication around Russian diamonds and certification; in 2024 publications a 300% rise in franchise demand appeared. For the structure of retail this is more an indicator of interest in a format and a recognisable offer than a measure of final demand. Together these examples say: the premium part of the market exists next to mass silver and the digital basket, not instead of them.

Traceability and trust

GIIS DMDK creates a mandatory contour of accounting for the turnover of precious metals and stones, including unique identification where it is required. For retail this is infrastructure of compliance and verifiability, not a ready marketing plot. The presence of a digital trail does not replace a clear card, documents, service and the seller’s ability to explain to the buyer what exactly they are acquiring.

It is important not to confuse GIIS figures with an estimate of market turnover from a press release. In one system the movement of goods under regulation rules may be accounted, in another — a till sale in an analyst’s methodology. One and the same physical object can enter different reporting cuts in different ways. That is why a market estimate, brand data and administrative accounting should stand side by side, but not be added.

For stones, trust links this structural review to a separate note on natural and lab-grown. From 1 September 2026 the terminological split of a natural brilliant and a grown stone is clarified. That affects the card and the counter, but does not cancel the market’s general logic: a cheap mass assortment and an expensive consultative purchase need different communication.

Synthesis and discussion

The market is changing the way it grows. Money comes from a dearer basket, while the number of pieces falls. On the shelf this is read through lower weight, more visible promotions, a larger role for silver and attention to the occasion of purchase. Premium does not cancel the mass basket: both modes exist at once and need a different offer.

The digital channel has distributed tasks between the screen and the store. A marketplace is convenient for an understandable product and price; own online helps a brand collect data and repeat demand; offline is especially needed where a try-on and trust cost more than speed. A high e-commerce share does not yet mean a good experience. It is much more important that, with equally clear information in each channel, there be fewer cancellations and returns.

Polarisation is a working hypothesis, not a ready explanation for every case. It does not mean the disappearance of a golden middle and does not promise growth to every expensive piece. It should be checked by price corridors, metals, occasions, discount, returns and repeat purchase.

Scenarios and hypotheses

Limitations

Sokolov, the Ministry of Finance and Data Insight work with different periods and methods. The stated 493.3 bn and “up to 540 bn” are not two addends. Online-brand indicators do not describe all of those companies’ channels. Statements by ALROSA, Grant and MIUZ reflect a corporate or industry angle. Growth in metal prices does not allow the retail price of a specific piece to be computed. The material does not give investment recommendations and does not replace a legal check of GIIS DMDK requirements.

Conclusions

1. In 2025 the market grew in roubles but contracted in units: money and physical volume need to be read separately.
2. The average ticket and metal prices explain rouble dynamics better than “growing love of jewellery”.
3. Silver forms the mass part of sales in units, while gold and stones remain important for expensive missions.
4. Online and marketplaces have become structural channels, yet offline keeps the function of trust and consultation.
5. Polarisation is a testable working model: mass and premium poles are more visible, and the middle needs a clearer offer.
6. Market estimates, corporate reporting and traceability data cannot be summed without a single method.

FAQ

What was the market size in 2025? Sokolov put it at 493.3 billion roubles (+7.3%). The Ministry of Finance published an alternative estimate — up to 540 billion roubles; that is another methodological contour, not a sum.

Why is turnover growing if units have fallen? On available data the average ticket rose, and the cost of metals became an important background. Turnover reflects price, assortment and quantity at once.

What does polarisation of the market mean? Pressure on the mid segment between an accessible mass basket and dearer, service or gift purchases.

What is silver’s role? About 71% of unit sales of pieces of natural gold and silver fall on silver. That is a units indicator, not the money value of the market.

Are marketplaces all of online? No. In Q1 2026, 30.6% e-commerce and 14.9% marketplaces were cited; own sites and other digital formats make up a separate part.

Where are diamonds in this structure? They work both in the premium natural contour and in accessible jewellery with settings. Their origin and communication are unpacked in a separate study.

Bibliography

1. Sokolov. Market results for 2025 and Q1 2026; sokolov.ru, Forbes Russia and Kommersant.
2. Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. Materials on development of the jewellery industry; minfin.gov.ru and Rossiyskaya gazeta.
3. Federal Assay Chamber. GIIS DMDK and clarifications for participants in turnover; probpalata.gov.ru.
4. Data Insight. Studies of the online jewellery market; datainsight.ru.
5. Retail.ru. Statistics and news of jewellery retail; retail.ru.
6. Yuvelir.INFO. Industry reviews, metals and retail statistics; uvelir.info.
7. ALROSA. Publications on jewellery projects and demand for diamonds; alrosa.ru.
8. MIUZ Diamonds. Communications on certification and network development; miuz.ru.
9. Junwex and Grant industry publications; junwex.com.