Jewelery Industry continues to struggle

With the current downturn in the economy the Jewelery Industry continues to struggle, recent figures supplied by the assay office show that Hallmarking has dropped dramatically. In the third quarter 4.86 million articles were hallmarked, down 23% from last year.

The total number of Jewelery articles hallmarked for 2008 is 13.2 million, 3.4 million less than the same period in 2007.

9 carat Gold articles total 2,117,832 down 32.8%

18 carat Gold articles total 357,511 down 22.2%

Platinum articles total 70,255 down 16.6%

Figures show lower consumer spending,retailer de-stocking and cautious buying as precious metal prices continue to be volatile and the worsening economic climate makes the whole Jewelery Industry more apprehensive.