Why Everyone’s Wearing ‘Almost-Gold’
How Soaring Gold Prices Reshaped the Jewellery Market
We traced how the aesthetic of “looking poor” became the new rich, from ₹70,000 pre-distressed sneakers to luxury runways mimicking hardship. Through Golden Goose scuffs and Balenciaga snowstorms, we unpacked how fashion quietly performs class today, not with logos but with irony. It was about recession-core, anonymity, and the blurred line between empathy and performance.
Read the full post here.
This story’s part of a bigger conversation, and you’re invited to all of it.
You’ve seen it.
A gold-toned choker that catches the light just right.
Hoops that feel borrowed from your mother’s drawer, but lighter.
A bangle that pairs with linen and airport runs.
You lean in. Is it real?
You don’t ask. You don’t need to.
Because no one’s pretending anymore, they’re just choosing differently.
Pure gold?
Beautiful, yes. But no longer necessary.
What’s showing up on wrists, collars, and red carpets today is 18-karat gold-plated, not 24k.
And that distinction matters - not just in shine, but in mindset.
When Real Becomes Unrealistic
Gold has always meant something. Especially in India.
Weddings. Wills. Warnings from your grandmother about storing it safely.
It glowed with permanence. With a promise.
But these days, that kind of weight doesn’t wear well.
With prices climbing, 24k gold is quietly becoming what it was never meant to be - inaccessible.
So the market listened. Or rather, it adjusted.
We didn’t stop loving gold.
We just stopped needing it to be… pure. And that changed everything.
Hence, we’re introduced to demi-fine jewellery.
The Rise of Demi-Fine
The demi-jewellery market pieces crafted in sterling silver and gold-plated with 14k or 18k have grown steadily, now expected to reach $6 billion globally by 2027.
It sits between fast fashion and fine jewellery.
Affordable yet elevated.
It’s the soft spot between “I want to look good” and “I’m not mortgaging my future for a necklace.”
Brands like Mejuri, Missoma, Palmonas, and GIVA built cult followings on this premise.
They don’t sell purity. They sell polish.
They don’t sell tradition. They sell timing.
And their customers?
They’re styling it, layering it, and owning it.
Opportunity Cost
Coined by Austrian economist Friedrich von Wieser, opportunity cost is what you give up when you choose one thing over another, the value of the path not taken. It’s not just a money concept. It’s a mindset. Every decision we make comes with a silent trade-off
Today, that decision is: do you buy a ₹93,000 gold chain, or three demi-fine ones that give you more styling freedom and zero stress? You’re not just spending differently. You’re prioritising flexibility over permanence, variety over investment, and self-expression over tradition.
Because in a market where gold’s glow now competes with rent, EMI, and an overflowing wishlist, even your jewellery becomes a spreadsheet. And that’s the quiet truth: every fashion choice is a financial one. Some just shine louder.
The Gold Rush, Reimagined
Let’s talk a little economics.
When something becomes too valuable, it exits the everyday.
Gold’s rise isn’t accidental. It’s the result of global inflation, currency hedging, and nervous investors shifting their weight from stocks to bonds.
Gold prices hit an all-time high in April 2025, crossing ₹93,390 per 10 grams in India. Globally, they hovered around $3,500 per ounce, driven by economic uncertainty and central banks' hoarding of reserves.
So while gold bars became smarter to sell, shopping for gold jewellery became harder to justify.
And the fashion industry did what it does best:
It bent the rules without breaking the look.
Brass became beautiful. Copper got a polish.
Plating got precise.
And suddenly, ₹899 earrings from an Instagram brand didn’t feel like a compromise.
They felt like a choice.
Everyone’s Wearing It
This shift isn’t niche, it’s mainstream.
Red carpets, airport looks, even bridal trousseaus are mixing metals and price points.
Hailey Bieber is often seen in dainty gold-plated layers with chunky hoops.
Kendall Jenner has worn vintage vermeil chains for street style.
Sonam Kapoor, known for heirloom pieces, has also paired artisanal demi jewellery with couture.
Pinterest boards are filled with keywords like “everyday gold stack” and “non-tarnish jewellery haul.”
The idea?
That taste doesn’t need a BIS stamp.
And quietly, this is changing how we view jewellery itself- not as a legacy, but as a language.
The New Gold Standard
This isn’t costume jewellery pretending to be something it’s not.
It’s a style statement, one that knows exactly what it’s doing.
Thoughtful. Curated. Clean.
It says: I understand luxury, but I also understand timing.
It says: I value craftsmanship, but I won’t overpay for old rules.
It’s soft power, and it sparkles.
In Retrospect
Gold hasn’t left. It’s just loosened its grip.
It’s no longer locked in vaults or saved for marriage.
It’s worn with crop tops and cargos, to airports and afterparties.
It doesn’t try too hard.
And maybe that’s why it’s working harder than ever.
The jewellery market didn’t shrink. It shape-shifted.
Because when culture meets cost?
Style adjusts. Silently. And still shines.
I used to think gold had to be heavy to hold meaning. That it needed weight, in carats, in cost, to be taken seriously.
Maybe it’s because my grandmother wore hers like a second skin. Bangles that clinked with every move. Chains she’d polish before weddings.
To her, gold wasn’t just jewellery, it was security. Pride. A future you could wear.
But lately, I’ve found power in pieces that don’t come with a legacy.
The necklace I bought on a whim. The hoops I wear on deadline days.
They aren’t heirlooms, but they feel like me.
This shift isn’t about letting go of tradition. It’s about reshaping it.
Jewellery is still about memory, about presence, just not always permanence.
And that’s the thing about shine.
It doesn’t have to last forever to be real. It just has to feel right, in the present.
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Your voice belongs here, too.
I like the way you’ve framed your argument for “not-real gold”. I’ve been thinking about it a lot and didn’t know anyone else’s mind was pondering the same topic. I agree (on a fashion level), shine doesn’t have to last forever to be real. But economically speaking, why would anyone spend 200$+ for gold plated when they can spend a similar amount on real gold. You can get real gold hoops that shine for real AND last forever (assuming one doesn’t lose them) for €50-€100. I stopped buying gold plated when I did the math and realised how much I had spent on buying jewellery that soon had to be thrown away and new ones to be bought. For that money I could have bought something that didn’t fade. I think the message “do you and do whatever makes you feel good” an important one for women. But it’s one that we already hear a lot. Maybe women also need to hear more about how to navigate the sweet spot of treating themselves while investing in themselves. Wouldn’t hurt to go a little bit against the fast fashion flow and stack our necklaces little by little. This month it can be just one, but with patience soon it can be a whole stack of them.