IP-branded light gold products attract young consumers in China

A customer selects gold jewelry at a store in Hailing district, Taizhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Photo/Yang Yugang)

Gold products featuring popular animation franchises are driving market enthusiasm and attracting young consumers in China.

At a Chow Tai Fook store in Beijing, gold jewelry featuring Disney, "Zootopia," "Black Myth: Wukong" and other franchises occupies prime display space. At a nearby CHJ Jewellery store, collaborative pieces featuring Butter Bear, Maltese, Kuromi, Crayon Shin-chan and other characters form a vibrant, eye-catching display that draws large numbers of young shoppers.

Product designs have also become increasingly diverse. Traditional pure gold pendants are crafted into recognizable licensed characters, while gold charms are fashioned into cute designs, packaged in elaborate boxes and imbued with auspicious meanings. Despite their minimal weight, these thin gold pieces are designed to look large and visually striking.

For instance, a Kuromi pure gold pendant roughly the size of a fingernail, weighing 1.16 grams, retails for 2,780 yuan ($399). A Butter Bear gold charm, paper-thin and about a quarter the size of a palm, features the character's image on one side and Chinese characters meaning "continuous good fortune" on the other. Weighing just 0.1 grams, it sells for 280 yuan.

"Many young people love these — they're our bestsellers," said a store employee. These pendants, branded with popular intellectual properties (IPs), are typically made using hard gold craftsmanship, which allows them to appear three-dimensional and attractive despite their light weight. Gold's malleability also enables pieces to be made large yet ultra-thin, creating an exquisite visual effect that appeals to younger buyers.

With gold prices soaring, these items, calculated by weight, are far from cheap.

So why are consumers still willing to pay? "Mainly for the joy it brings," said Ms. Wang, who just spent under 200 yuan on a Disney-branded gold charm. With gold prices so high, being able to buy genuine gold at this price delivers strong emotional value. "Even if it's only 0.01 grams, it still looks like a substantial piece," she said. "It's something you can casually wear every day."

Photo shows IP-branded gold jewelry on display at a store in Beijing. (Photo/Liu Boning)

Over the past two years, IP-branded gold jewelry has repeatedly broken sales records, becoming a bright spot in the gold consumption market. Some styles have sold out within two hours of launch, product lines have generated nearly 100 million yuan in sales within two weeks, and first-day sales have exceeded 1 million yuan.

"Young people buying IP-branded gold jewelry and milligram-weight gold pieces are driven primarily by emotional connection, cultural identity and social expression," said Du Guochen, head of the e-commerce research institute of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Such products, often tied to anime, gaming or film and television IPs, carry emotional memories and serve as markers of community belonging, Du noted. Lightweight, highly shareable gold products also align with young consumers' habits of "treating themselves" and sharing on social media.

With China-chic aesthetics, IP collaborations and anime culture making gold jewelry increasingly fashionable, its appeal continues to expand, attracting more young consumers. According to the World Gold Council's 2025 Chinese jewellery consumer insights report, 62 percent of consumers between 18 and 24 years old own gold jewelry, up from 37 percent in 2019.

The industry's constant innovation toward making gold jewelry lighter, trendier and more colorful — by combining gold with other materials — is expected to continue attracting this younger demographic, the report said.

Among various gold products, hard pure gold jewelry was the best-performing category, according to the WGC's 2025 Chinese jewellery retailer insights report. Due to their lighter weight, which translates to better affordability, as well as innovative design and smart integration with other materials, hard pure gold products have captured growing attention from young consumers.

In Du's view, the key appeal of these products lies in their low entry barrier, high emotional value, and strong social attributes. Gold pieces in particular are affordable, easy to style, suitable for daily wear and gifting, aligning with young people's consumption logic of focusing more on rich experiences, instead of assets.

"This suggests that in the minds of some young people, gold is transitioning from a traditional 'hard asset' to an 'emotional symbol' and 'social accessory,'" he said.

The way young people consume gold is profoundly transforming the entire industry, Du observed. IP-branded gold jewelry and gold pieces have greatly expanded gold's consumption scenarios, shifting it from weddings and festivals to daily wear, gift-giving and emotional fulfillment, attracting younger customers who previously paid little attention to gold.

This is also compelling the industry to innovate continuously in design, promoting deep integration of gold with China-chic aesthetics, anime, fashion and other cultural elements, thereby enhancing products' added value and contemporary appeal.

The trend toward lighter weight and more intricate design continues to grow, making gold jewelry more affordable while offering higher margins to retailers, according to the WGC. Personal wear remains consumers' primary reason for purchasing jewelry, followed by weddings.

Du believes gold is becoming a "premium accessory" through which young people express their personality and embellish their everyday lives, and an important vehicle linking traditional culture with contemporary trends.