Three gold necklaces appreciated by over 23,000 yuan overnight! The old shop's gold surged by 20%~30% at the start of the year. How much closer is it to luxury brands?

“Yesterday, I bought three necklaces from Lao Pu Gold, and I woke up to a profit of over 23,000 yuan! Two of them increased by 8,000 yuan each, and the other rose by more than 7,000 yuan.” He Jia (pseudonym) told the Daily Economic News (hereafter “DE News”) reporter excitedly. This result was well worth the several hours she queued up before the price hike.

Lao Pu Gold store packed with customers the day before the price increase. Image source: DE News reporter Bi Yuanyuan

On February 28, Lao Pu Gold officially implemented its first round of price adjustments for 2026. DE News learned that the price increase for its products ranged from 20% to 30%, leading the jewelry industry’s early-year price hikes. As of now in 2026, brands like Chow Sang Sang and Chao Hong Ji have completed their adjustments, mainly involving single product price changes or partial category increases; in late February, Chow Tai Fook also announced a price hike scheduled for March. On February 26, DE News learned that Chow Tai Fook’s fixed-price products could see an increase of 11% to 20%. Compared to these, Lao Pu Gold’s price increase may be the most significant in the industry.

Besides leading the trend, DE News also learned that Lao Pu Gold has adjusted its prices five times in 2024 and 2025, with a total increase of 64%. What is the basis for such frequent price hikes? Are these increases reasonable?

Currently, it’s common for major gold jewelry brands to adjust prices 2 to 3 times a year. Besides responding to international gold price fluctuations and cost pressures, what else is behind this collective price increase? How long can Lao Pu Gold sustain its continuous price hikes? “If the gold attribute is downplayed or gold prices fall sharply, Lao Pu Gold’s prices and sales will be affected,” said Zhou Ting, an industry expert in luxury goods, in an interview with DE News. She pointed out that Lao Pu Gold has not yet fully broken free from the limitations of gold material.

Maximum single-round increase of 30%, buying three necklaces “earns” over 23,000 yuan

“Yesterday morning, I queued up early and bought three gold necklaces in one go. When I woke up today, I saw I had made over 23,000 yuan in profit!” He Jia, living in Beijing, told DE News. On February 27, she queued for hours at a Lao Pu Gold store to “grab gold,” ultimately spending over 80,000 yuan on three necklaces. By February 28, the total value of these jewelry pieces had exceeded 100,000 yuan.

Image source: Provided by He Jia

He Jia explained that after this price adjustment, two of the three necklaces she bought from Lao Pu Gold with the same style increased by over 8,000 yuan each, and one rose by more than 7,000 yuan. DE News roughly calculated that the increases for these two products were 26.3% and 26.7%, respectively.

After this round of price hikes, Lao Pu Gold’s “profits” are not only for He Jia. Fang Li (pseudonym) bought a necklace during an online promotion on February 26, weighing 13.8 grams at a price of 30,180 yuan. On the morning of February 28, she told DE News that the same necklace’s price had risen to 38,430 yuan. DE News calculated that this product’s price increased by 8,250 yuan, a 27.3% rise.

DE News learned that Lao Pu Gold’s current price adjustment range is 20% to 30%, surpassing last year’s adjustments. In 2025, Lao Pu Gold adjusted prices in February, August, and October, with increases of 5%–10%, 10%–12%, and 18%–25%, respectively.

“A total increase of about 45% from three adjustments in 2025 is still lower than the nearly 60% rise in gold prices during the same period,” an industry insider told DE News.

Lao Pu Gold’s stock price has also been rising steadily. On February 27, its closing price reached HKD 723.5 per share, with a market value of HKD 127.9 billion, up over 17% this year.

So, how eager are consumers to buy before the price hikes? On February 27, DE News visited Lao Pu Gold stores in Beijing, Chengdu, and other cities. Since the announcement of the price adjustment on February 18, queues at stores have noticeably increased, with some customers lining up with lists asking about stock availability.

“Early in the morning, we received over 100 calls,” a staff member at a Beijing Lao Pu Gold store told DE News after the reporter, posing as a customer, queued for more than two hours. The staff said, “The more ‘plain’ the gold, the harder it is to buy now.” The term “plain gold” refers to unmounted, simple traditional plain rings or pendants, which, due to their high weight and strong value retention, have become the main items in demand.

On the same day, after learning that many Lao Pu Gold stores in various cities could not be reached by phone, DE News inquired at a high-end shopping mall in Chengdu. An employee there said, “Since the New Year, almost every day someone has been queuing outside Lao Pu Gold stores. The reason you can’t get through is that they are overwhelmed with calls, and their lines are blocked.”

Lao Pu Gold’s price increases lead the industry, with five rounds totaling a 64% rise

“Traditional jewelry brands like Chow Tai Fook and Lao Feng Xiang typically raise prices 2–3 times a year, with annual increases of 15%–20%. High-end brands like Lao Pu Gold also raise prices 2–3 times annually, with total increases of 30%–50%, far exceeding the others. Lao Pu Gold’s adjustments are the highest, with some single adjustments reaching up to 30%,” said Zhou Ting, president of the Key Opinion Consumer Research Institute and an industry expert in luxury goods, in an interview with DE News.

Why does Lao Pu Gold’s price increase lead the industry? Zhou Ting believes that Lao Pu Gold’s confidence in raising prices comes from “brand strength and the sustained flow of traffic driven by rising gold prices.” Its fixed-price model differs fundamentally from traditional brands’ “gold + labor cost” approach. The former uses regular price adjustments to reinforce its “luxury” positioning, while the latter mainly offsets costs from gold price increases.

“Without price hikes, Lao Pu Gold, with its current profit margins and brand momentum, could directly take over many domestic gold jewelry brands’ market share. But its core goal is still to target consumers who used to buy traditional luxury goods,” said Chen Dong (pseudonym), a senior executive at a well-known jewelry brand. He believes that, considering international gold price fluctuations and industry cost changes, Lao Pu Gold’s price adjustments are quite reasonable.

A report from HSBC published on February 26 shows that since January 2024, gold prices have risen 130%, while Lao Pu Gold’s products have been adjusted five times, with a total increase of 64%. “The expectation of price hikes has accelerated demand for Lao Pu Gold’s high craftsmanship, piece-priced jewelry, and widened its market share gap with competitors trying to imitate its model.”

By the evening of February 27, spot gold had broken through USD 5,220 per ounce. GoldTrack data shows that over the past year, international gold prices increased by USD 2,251 per ounce, a rise of 77.19%.

Image source: GoldTrack screenshot

The sharp fluctuations in raw material prices are the underlying reason for industry-wide price adjustments. Currently, it’s standard for jewelry brands to adjust prices 2–3 times annually. Zhou Ting pointed out that the price hikes by Chow Tai Fook and Lao Pu Gold are not only responses to international gold price fluctuations but also reflect that China’s gold jewelry market has entered a high-end development stage, with price increases being a key strategy for brand premium positioning.

“Major brands raising prices indicates that traditional jewelry brands are officially moving towards high-end positioning, becoming followers and challengers to Lao Pu Gold. This trend will likely lead to a future where only high-end brands survive in the gold jewelry market, while those that fail to upscale will gradually disappear,” Zhou Ting said.

However, does a price increase mean sales are entering a slow season? On the first day of the price adjustment on February 28, DE News found that most Lao Pu Gold stores in Beijing, Chengdu, and other cities did not show the long queues seen previously.

“Price hikes will lead to a cooling-off period, but this is just a reduction in visitor numbers, not in individual store sales,” Chen Dong told DE News. He explained that China’s consumer structure shows a clear “K-shaped” divergence: one group is rushing to stockpile before prices rise, while another consists of high-net-worth individuals spending tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan annually, who care more about craftsmanship, aesthetic appeal, and cultural resonance than price.

Net profit of 2.268 billion yuan in half a year—how to break free from the gold “shackle” after comparing with luxury brands?

Since the end of 2024, Lao Pu Gold, which first broke through by targeting high-end luxury positioning, has continued to attract attention. While competitors like Chow Tai Fook have been closing stores and experiencing declining performance, Lao Pu Gold has defied the trend and risen.

In the first half of 2025, Lao Pu Gold’s revenue increased by 251% year-on-year to 12.354 billion yuan; net profit soared 285.8% to 2.268 billion yuan. It even attracted LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault to visit its Shanghai store, indicating that domestic gold brands are now catching the eye of international luxury players.

Zhou Ting believes that Lao Pu Gold’s “regular price hikes” are learning from international luxury brands, but there are clear differences. “Lao Pu Gold’s brand strength and premium ability are still not on par with Hermès or Cartier, nor does it have the same cyclical resilience. Its brand value is stronger than other Chinese gold jewelry brands, but it remains deeply rooted in gold and gold price increases, without fully breaking free from the limitations of gold material.”

“If gold attributes are downplayed or gold prices fall sharply, Lao Pu Gold’s prices and sales will be affected. Its so-called high-end and scarcity are not entirely sustainable,” Zhou Ting analyzed.

Industry experts see Lao Pu Gold’s rise as a sign of China’s high-end brand “pricing power awakening.” Chen Dong believes that Lao Pu Gold has gained true pricing power through its adjustments, which is not just about changing prices but leveraging pricing to control brand tone. This makes Lao Pu Gold the only high-end brand in traditional gold, even putting international brands like Bvlgari and Van Cleef & Arpels under pressure. It also signifies an increase in China’s high-end brand pricing discourse.

Lao Pu Gold’s high-end ornaments cost over 750,000 yuan. Image source: DE News reporter Bi Yuanyuan

Zhou Ting also said that Lao Pu Gold’s rise reflects the rational upgrade of Chinese consumers’ consumption concepts. “Consumers’ willingness to pay premiums for international luxury brands has decreased, and they now focus more on the intrinsic value of products. Lao Pu Gold’s success aligns with this trend.”

Although Lao Pu Gold has become a benchmark for domestic high-end jewelry brands, truly establishing a foothold in the global luxury market still faces multiple core challenges. Zhou Ting pointed out that the primary challenge is building professional brand management capabilities. Domestic brands need to learn from international luxury brands’ methodologies to truly develop brands with high premium capabilities, rather than relying solely on the material value of gold.

“Currently, Chinese gold jewelry brands, including Lao Pu Gold, have brand strength and premium ability below those of international luxury brands,” Zhou Ting said. She believes Lao Pu Gold needs to improve its creativity and aesthetic standards. The core of traditional craftsmanship is skill inheritance, but most domestic products are more craftworks than art pieces. Only by integrating traditional techniques with international aesthetics can they achieve high-end breakthroughs. Additionally, China’s gold jewelry brands face significant talent shortages. To compete on the international stage, they need to attract professional luxury management talents and build strong teams to develop their brands.

Daily Economic News