France produces €6.6 billion worth of watches and jewelry, exports €11.5 billion and sells €5.9 billion on its own market. These are the 2025 key figures published by the Francéclat Observatory in February 2026. This page brings them together, adds the number of companies registered in the Insee Sirene business register, and explains what they mean for a jewelry brand and for a manufacturing workshop.
Updated on 27 September 2026. Every figure on this page comes from a public source, listed at the end of the article. The estimates and projections of earlier versions have been removed.
The 2025 key figures at a glance
| Watch and jewelry industry | 2025 | Year on year |
|---|---|---|
| French production (turnover excl. VAT) | €6.6bn | +7% |
| of which jewelry | €6,162m | +8% |
| of which watchmaking | €425m | +0.4% |
| Production workforce | 15,000 people | +1% |
| Exports and re-exports | €11.5bn | +4% |
| of which jewelry | €8,610m | +5% |
| Imports | €9.5bn | +1% |
| Sales of precious jewelry and watches in France | €5.9bn | +1% |
Source: Francéclat Observatory, key figures 2025, February 2026.
Three things stand out:
- France exports almost twice what it sells at home (re-exports included).
- Production is growing much faster than the domestic market: +7% against +1%.
- A large part of the growth is a price effect. Francéclat says so itself: gold, silver and platinum soared again in 2025.
Production has more than tripled in ten years
French jewelry production reached €6,162 million in 2025 (+8%). According to Francéclat, it has been multiplied by 3.5 in ten years.
| Jewelry production in 2025 | Turnover excl. VAT | Year on year |
|---|---|---|
| Precious jewelry | €5,610m | +10% |
| in gold of all finenesses and platinum | €4,486m | +13% |
| of which fine jewelry set with stones | €3,807m | +14% |
| of which all-gold jewelry | €679m | +9% |
| in silver | €105m | +10% |
| in gold plate | €18m | -11% |
| subcontracting and other | €1,001m | -1% |
| Stones and pearls | €62m | -3% |
| Costume jewelry | €426m | -16% |
| Precious silverware | €64m | -2% |
Source: Francéclat Observatory and Insee, key figures 2025.
What this table tells a professional:
- Fine jewelry drives everything. Pieces set with stones (€3,807m, +14%) are pulling away from all-gold jewelry (€679m, +9%).
- Work done for other companies carries real weight. The "subcontracting and other" line alone accounts for €1,001 million of production.
- Costume jewelry and gold plate are declining. The rise in gold prices pushes the market towards alternatives, yet French production of costume jewelry (-16%) and gold-plated jewelry (-11%) has not benefited, Francéclat notes.
Where the workshops are
The historic production areas are Paris, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Grand Est, with new sites in Brittany, Pays de la Loire and Nouvelle-Aquitaine (key figures 2024). Above all, Francéclat points out that 50,000 m² of new workshops have opened in France over five years, mainly in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes: a mix of independents and subsidiaries of large groups.
Growth is concentrated
In jewelry, the companies that generate two thirds of the industry's turnover are growing, and those that generate 44% of it are growing by more than 10%. Francéclat partly sees this as a mirror effect of rising precious metal prices.
Metal prices: half of the story
| Prices in euros | 2025 (change) | January 2026 (change) |
|---|---|---|
| Gold bar (1 kg) | €97,816 (+38%) | €130,122 (+33%) |
| Ounce of gold | €3,032 (+37%) | €4,043 (+33%) |
| Ounce of silver | €35 (+35%) | €78 (+123%) |
| Ounce of platinum | €1,124 (+27%) | €2,007 (+79%) |
Source: Francéclat, based on the London Bullion Market Association and the Comptoir National de l'Or.
For an industry that measures its turnover in euros, these increases change how every other figure should be read.
- Part of the growth is a price effect. Francéclat writes it about the French market: growth in value comes with a contraction in volume, and footfall in stores was a real concern in 2025.
- Every gram matters more. With a gold bar at €130,122 in January 2026, a gram of fine gold was worth about €130. A one-gram gap between what a brand entrusted and what its workshop returned is no longer a rounding error, it is money: that is the whole point of a metal weight account kept to the gram.
- Professionals are looking for alternatives. Francéclat mentions the promotion of platinum, trials of 585 gold (14 carats) and the exploration of tantalum.
- Gold buy-back has been a driver. According to an EY study for Francéclat, French households hold around 4,000 tonnes of gold, twice the reserves of the Banque de France.
To price a piece at today's rates: the material cost calculator and the precious metal prices.
Exports: Switzerland as a hub, the United States in decline
Jewelry exports reached €8,610 million in 2025 (+5%). For precious jewelry alone (€7,253m, +6%), the 2019 record (€6,506m) was beaten for the second year in a row, and exports cover 170% of imports. Precious jewelry now contributes close to €3 billion to France's trade balance.
| Main markets for jewelry and silverware | Share of 2025 exports | Year on year |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland (transit included) | 39% | +24% |
| United States | 7% | -22% |
| Italy | 6% | +18% |
| Hong Kong | 6% | -4% |
| China | 5% | -22% |
Source: Francéclat Observatory, Trade Data Monitor, French customs.
- Switzerland is first and foremost a logistics hub, which blurs the picture of where the jewelry finally ends up.
- The United States is declining, against a background of customs tariffs that Francéclat describes as erratic.
- Italy is growing: Francéclat sees a European industrial base taking shape around a France, Italy, Switzerland triangle.
On the import side, jewelry is stable at €6,011 million. The industry's exports cover 120% of its imports: 143% in jewelry, 81% in watchmaking.
The French market: stable in value, distance selling in retreat
Sales of precious jewelry and watches in France reached €5.9 billion excl. VAT in 2025 (+1%), and €6.1 billion including smartwatch specialists. The market has grown from a base of €4 billion in 2019 to almost €6 billion, and is stabilising there. Yet the year was uneven: eight good months were wiped out by November (-5%) and December (-1%).
| Distribution channel | 2025 vs 2024 |
|---|---|
| Total sales | +1% |
| Specialist retail | +1% |
| Place Vendôme houses | +3% |
| Watch and jewelry stores in town centres | +2% |
| Watch and jewelry stores in shopping malls | -3% |
| Watch specialists | +2% |
| Non-specialist retail | +1% |
| Department stores | +3% |
| Hypermarkets and supermarkets | +1% |
| Food and non-food discount | -7% |
| Distance selling, specialist or not | -18% |
| Non-specialist distance selling | -24% |
Source: Francéclat Observatory, levy collected by Francéclat. Watch and jewelry stores include their online sales.
Growth comes from physical retail alone. Distance selling fell for the second year running (-6% in 2024, -18% in 2025), and even more so among generalists. Specialist retail keeps the upper hand, to the point that Francéclat asks whether selling watches and jewelry is becoming a specialists' business again.
How many companies? What the Sirene register shows
Francéclat states that its mission is funded by the 14,000 companies of its three industries (watchmaking, jewelry, tableware). The Insee Sirene register makes it possible to go further, activity by activity.
| NACE code | Main activity | Active companies | of which sole proprietors | of which 10+ employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32.12Z | Manufacture of jewelry and related articles | 4,517 | 2,333 | 151 |
| 32.13Z | Manufacture of costume jewelry | 21,268 | 20,137 | 43 |
| 47.77Z | Retail sale of watches and jewelry | 6,119 | 1,263 | 253 |
| 46.48Z | Wholesale of watches and jewelry | 1,152 | 173 | 70 |
| 95.25Z | Repair of watches, clocks and jewelry | 908 | 591 | 18 |
Source: Insee Sirene register, companies active on 27 September 2026, queried through the Recherche d'entreprises API. Method at the end of the article.
What this table shows:
- Two worlds in manufacturing. Of 4,517 jewelry manufacturers, more than half are sole proprietors, and only 151 declare at least 10 employees. Yet according to Francéclat, more than 70% of jewelry production is carried out by companies with more than 20 employees, which account for 57% of the workforce (2024 figures). In Sirene, 80 companies declare 20 employees or more. Craft businesses, for their part, account for 13.5% of production and 26.5% of the workforce.
- Costume jewelry, a world of designers. 21,268 companies, 95% of them sole proprietors: mostly self-employed designers. Their number says nothing about their economic weight: French costume jewelry production fell to €426 million (-16%).
- A dense retail network. 6,119 watch and jewelry retailers, 253 of them with 10 employees or more.
- Exceptional workshops. 43 jewelry manufacturers hold the French state label Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (Living Heritage Company), awarded for five years to rare craftsmanship (public list from the French Ministry of the Economy).
What changes for professionals in 2025-2026
- The precious metals register has a new legal basis. Since 1 July 2025, Article 537 of the French General Tax Code has been repealed (Ordinance No. 2023-1210 of 20 December 2023). The obligation to keep the precious metals register (livre de police) now falls under Article L. 834-6 of the French Commercial Code, and its content under Articles 56 J quaterdecies to 56 J octodecies of Annex IV to the General Tax Code. Many registers on sale and many web pages still cite the old article. See what a digital precious metals register must record.
- E-invoicing is arriving. Since 1 September 2026, every VAT-registered company established in France must be able to receive its purchase invoices through an approved platform. Issuing e-invoices has been mandatory since that date for large and mid-sized companies, and will be for SMEs and micro-businesses on 1 September 2027 (service-public.gouv.fr).
What these figures change for a brand and for a workshop
For a jewelry brand
- Choosing workshops becomes a job in itself. French manufacturing relies on a few dozen structured companies and several thousand small ones. A brand often works with several of them, by craft: see how to choose and manage your manufacturers.
- Entrusted metal is tracked to the gram. With a gram of fine gold at around €130, estimates are no longer enough: what leaves for the workshop, what comes back as pieces and what is lost in manufacturing all have to be counted.
- Traceability is no longer for the big houses only. Exports weigh almost twice the French market, and foreign customers ask for proof of origin: see RJC certification.
For a workshop
- Subcontracting is a business in its own right. A billion euros of production falls under the "subcontracting and other" line: it deserves tools of its own.
- Growth is concentrated. It benefits first the companies that are already growing, and new workshops are opening, notably in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
- Every delivery involves two records. A gold or platinum piece that leaves for a customer goes into the precious metals register and into that customer's metal weight account.
Where Liink fits in
Liink is software built for both sides of the trade. On the workshop side: manufacturing orders, step tracking, casting and subcontractors, metal weight accounts, the precious metals register. On the brand side: catalogue, orders, stock, sales, invoices. Both companies work on the same data: what the workshop moves forward, the brand sees without having to ask, and delivering a piece updates the metal weight account and the register in the same step.
Sources and method
Sources
- Francéclat Observatory, key figures 2025, watchmaking and jewelry, February 2026 (data: Francéclat, Insee, Trade Data Monitor, French customs, levy collected by Francéclat).
- Francéclat Observatory, key figures 2024, March 2025: production by company size, production areas.
- Insee, Sirene register, queried through the Recherche d'entreprises API (Sirene database on data.gouv.fr).
- French Ministry of the Economy, Entreprises du patrimoine vivant, updated on 24 August 2026.
- Légifrance, French Commercial Code, Article L. 834-6.
- Service-public.gouv.fr, e-invoicing between businesses.
How companies were counted
A company is counted once, under its declared main activity (NACE code of the legal unit), if it is active in the register on 27 September 2026. Sole proprietors include micro-entrepreneurs: the register counts registrations, not actual activity. The workforce band is the one declared in the register; it is missing for some companies, so "10+ employees" is a minimum. For costume jewelry, the total adds up companies and sole proprietors counted department by department, as the search tool caps its results at 10,000.
Working with several workshops, or for several brands? Discover jewelry management software that connects the brand and the workshop on the same data.