Fine Jewellery & the UAE Boom

Fine Jewellery's boom in the UAERichemont's +20% Middle East, Dubai's 179M Carats, Mellon Blue at $25.6MThe category is doing what fashion can't always do in a slowdown: convert emotion into repeat purchases, and attention into appointments. In a market recalibration, jewellery remains one of the cleanest reads of real luxury demand and the scoreboard is increasingly shaped by regions with strong VIC culture and high-touch retail theatre.The clearest proof is Richemont. For the quarter ended 31 December 2025, Group sales hit €6.399bn (+11% at constant FX), with Jewellery Maisons at €4.785bn (+14%). The regional tell is louder: Middle East & Africa reached €607m, up +20%, alongside Japan +17% and the Americas +14%. That's not just resilience it's momentum. LVMH is signalling similar stability: its Watches & Jewelry division delivered €10.486bn in 2025 revenue with +3% organic growth.Now zoom into the Gulf, because this isn't only about consumption it's about infrastructure. DMCC reports over 1 billion carats of rough and polished diamonds traded through Dubai over the past five years, with 179 million carats in 2024 alone. In other words: Dubai isn't merely a customer market; it's a conduit where supply chain, tourism and private client behaviour intersect which is why brands follow with investment.Upstream, the mood is more cautious. De Beers reported its H1 2025 average realised price down 5% to $155/ct, however it's unsurprising given the lack of clarity around both brand identity and very average product design pressure on rough pricing meets selective demand. Yet at the trophy end, liquidity is still there when rarity and provenance align: the 9.51-carat "Mellon Blue" sold for CHF 20.5m (~$25.6m) at Christie's Geneva, and Sotheby's New York's Dec 9 sale totalled $30.1m, led by a 3.48-carat Fancy Intense Blue at $2.6m.The retail build-out reinforces the same map. Over the past 24 months, maisons have doubled down on flagship corridors and salon-grade environments: