Shortly before Laopu Gold raised its prices by 20–30% at the end of February, Liu bought her first item from the viral Chinese jewelry brand. It would not be her last.
The Shanghai businesswoman, who did not want to use her full name, spent roughly HKD 100,000 (USD 12,759.3) on the initial purchase. She took home a pendant featuring three tiers of intricately carved rings interlocking into a disc, with insets of red coral and turquoise.
In less than a month, despite the global uncertainty sparked by the Iran war, Liu was back in Hong Kong buying two more pieces at Laopu’s flagship store. This made her a VIP customer, a status reserved for those who spend more than HKD 300,000 (USD 38,278), granting her 5% off all future purchases.
“I became their client because it is such a trendy brand these days,” Liu, who is in her late 50s, told Nikkei Asia. She added that she appreciates gold as a store of value, notwithstanding the drop in the precious metal’s price since the Middle East conflict erupted.
The rise of Laopu, which Chinese social media users have dubbed the “Hermes of gold,” marks a new phase in the global competition among luxury brands. The likes of Laopu have managed to resonate with domestic consumers and set themselves apart from Western competitors, in part by emphasizing traditional Chinese craftsmanship as a core selling point, while big names like Gucci, Cartier, and Tiffany & Co have shut stores amid sluggish consumer spending in the world’s second largest economy.
Founded in 2009, the Beijing-headquartered Laopu has become a homegrown darling of investors as well. While its Hong Kong share price has fallen off in recent weeks amid the gold slump, it is still up around 1,500% from its IPO price of HKD 40.5 (USD 5.2) in June 2024. Its market cap is equivalent to about USD 14 billion.
The buzz has come with sparkling earnings: Laopu reported in March that its revenue jumped 221% on the year in 2025, to RMB 27.3 billion (USD 4 billion), with its net income soaring 230% to RMB 4.87 billion (USD 706.6 million).
The brand currently operates 45 stores across 16 cities in China, exclusively in top-tier malls, along with locations in Singapore and Hong Kong. Long lines, price hikes, and product shortages are common, all typically associated with high-end brands. The company says that as of March, it had an average customer overlap rate of 82.4% with five leading international luxury competitors: Hermes, as well as Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Bulgari, and Tiffany.
Enjoying a complimentary bottle of Evian and Godiva chocolate, Liu said that she bought Western brands like Boucheron in the past, but said Laopu’s designs are her “favorite right now.” The exchange-rate benefits of buying in Hong Kong are golden for mainlanders, too.
As of December 31, Laopu had about 610,000 loyalty members like Liu, an increase of 260,000 from the end of 2024.
The rapid expansion of Laopu over the past couple of years has been driven by a mix of factors, according to Citi analyst Tiffany Feng. Some consumers are drawn to its heritage craftsmanship and distinctive designs, while others were attracted by its perceived value during the upcycle that pushed gold prices to record highs, as the brand’s product price increases temporarily lagged behind, she said in a research note.
Contrary to standard industry practice, Laopu does not price its products by weight or adjust them in line with global gold price fluctuations. Instead, it typically raises listed prices two to three times a year.
The price appeal may have dimmed somewhat, as gold’s recent fall defies the metal’s reputation as a safe haven. “With the significant gold price decline recently, we believe demand from price-sensitive customers will be suppressed, which we estimate contributed approximately 40% of [Laopu’s] revenue in the first quarter,” Feng wrote.
Xu Gaoming, Laopu’s chairman, shrugged off the price issue at an investor briefing on March 24. “We have never said that we are long-term bullish on rising gold prices,” he insisted. “Our strategy is to maintain strong market performance whether gold prices are rising or falling. When gold prices decline, we are confident in our products’ ability to maintain a good premium.”
Either way, Laopu has been rolling while Western brands are reeling in a Chinese personal luxury goods market that contracted 3–5% last year, according to a January report by Bain & Company. Sales of jewelry were estimated somewhere between flat and a 5% decline, better than 2024 but still a sign of consumer caution in a sluggish economy.
The US consultancy said Chinese consumers have become more selective, prioritizing value-driven luxury items that balance quality, exclusivity and practicality. It expects China’s personal luxury goods market to see modest growth this year, albeit with continued volatility and uncertainty.
Against this backdrop, Gucci closed at least five stores in Shanghai, Guiyang, and Beijing last year. Cartier closed its store in Guiyang, while Tiffany shuttered a location in Kunming. Tiffany also halved the size of its flagship store at Shanghai’s Hong Kong Plaza in 2024.
Kering, the French luxury group that owns brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Balenciaga, posted a 13% decline in global revenue in 2025, its second straight year of steep contractions. Sales of Gucci plunged 22%. Other brands, including fine jeweler Qeelin, logged a decline of 10%.
But Laopu has found a winning formula using techniques such as hand hammering, engraving, Chinese filigree inlay and enamel work. Its designs often incorporate Chinese motifs like the ruyi symbol, associated with granting wishes; the wheat-ear pixiu, a mythical beast known for attracting wealth and warding off evil; and longevity locks, protective charms meant to lock in safety and health.
Other Chinese gold brands are taking a similar approach.
Last June, Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook, one of the world’s largest jewelry chains, launched its first high jewelry collection, Timeless Harmony. The line draws from Chinese cultural elements including lotus flowers, palaces, and the Great Wall. Colored gemstones and diamonds are paired with heritage materials such as jadeite and pure gold—elements rarely used in Western fine jewelry—as the company positions itself as a “global Chinese luxury brand.”
The mainland accounted for 83.2% of Chow Tai Fook’s HKD 89.6 billion (USD 11.4 billion) in revenue for 2025, according to its annual report, versus 87.9% of HKD 98.9 billion (USD 12.6 billion) for 2022, partly due to international expansion.
“High jewelry is part of our mission to increase the presence of Eastern aesthetics in a segment long dominated by global peers, and it represents a strategic evolution for Chow Tai Fook Jewellery that both builds on and elevates our gold business,” Catherine Yu, general manager of the high jewelry segment, told Nikkei Asia.
Yu emphasized the strategic value of using the new line to engage with the group’s top clients, holding curated events, personalized experiences and demonstrations of gold craftsmanship. “High-net-worth clients are increasingly seeking rare, collectible jewelry that reflects long-term value,” she said. “Over the past two years, we’ve seen robust double-digit growth, particularly driven by renewed and rising interest in jade and gemstone jewelry.”
Besides high jewelry, the group in recent years has also introduced other collections that incorporate Chinese culture. In 2024, Chow Tai Fook collaborated with the Palace Museum in Beijing, which exhibits artifacts in the Forbidden City, to launch heritage-inspired pieces priced from HKD 50,000 (USD 6,379.7) to over HKD 2 million (USD 255,186.7).
Earlier this year it introduced a RMB 788,800 (USD 114,448.2) gold AirPods case, partially colored in Chinese red and made with about 350 grams of gold. The case sold quickly in mainland China, while one made available in Hong Kong has not been sold, according to a spokesperson.
A salesperson at Chow Tai Fook’s flagship store in Hong Kong said designers must strike a balance: “Customers today don’t favor overly traditional gold designs. They prefer gold jewelry set with diamonds, and mainland tourists tend to favor larger diamonds.”
Like many Western luxury brands, both Laopu and Chow Tai Fook have also rolled out home collections, targeting the rich with items such as gold Buddha statues, tea sets and even chessboards.
While it has been warmly received in the domestic market and enthusiastic customers like Liu, Laopu is preparing for an aggressive overseas expansion.
Chairman Xu told investors that in 2026, the company will take a conservative approach to domestic store openings but will actively pursue foreign ones, starting in Southeast Asia.
The company has made preliminary inquiries in Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand about new locations. Xu said the brand will not target Chinese and non-Chinese customers differently.
Asked whether geopolitical tensions could affect its entry into Japan, which is locked in a diplomatic dispute with China, Xu said the expansion is proceeding as planned and the company is not overly concerned.
“People around the world,” he said, “ultimately love peace.”
This article first appeared on Nikkei Asia. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with Nikkei.
Note: HKD, RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of HKD 7.84 = USD 1 and RMB 6.89 = USD 1 based on estimates as of April 6, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.