Hong Kong jewelry and watch sales rise 20.3% in September
The category, which also covers clocks and valuable gifts, sold HK$4,706 million, provisional figures show, below August's revised HK$5,153 million. Over nine months it is the fastest-growing outlet type in the government's table.
By Carat Capital
What changed
The category grew faster. Hong Kong's jewellery, watch and valuable-gift outlets sold HK$4,706 million in September, 20.3% more than a year earlier, on provisional government figures. August's rise was 12.2%.
What it means
- If you sell to Hong Kong counters: the rise is on a year earlier; against August, sales fell 8.7%.
- If you track the year: nine-month sales are up 22.4%, the fastest of any outlet type.
- What this is not: a volume figure. The category is measured in value, and the government gives no cause for it.
Key figures
| Jewellery, watches, giftsSeptember value, y/y | +20.3% |
|---|---|
| September salesprovisional | HK$4,706m |
| August, revised+12.2% y/y | HK$5,153m |
| January to SeptemberHK$45,820m, provisional, y/y | +22.4% |
Source: Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, released 3 November 2026 · September provisional, August revised · value, not adjusted for prices or season
Provisional: up on 2025, below August.
Up on the year. Category sales rose 20.3% on September 2025, provisional figures show. August's rise is now 12.2% after revision.
Down on the month. September's HK$4,706 million was 8.7% below August's revised HK$5,153 million. The release adjusts only total retail for the season, by quarter.
| Line | Sales, HK$m | Change on a year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| Category, August 2026 (revised) | 5,153 | +12.2% |
| Category, September 2026 (provisional) | 4,706 | +20.3% |
| Category, January to September 2026 (provisional) | 45,820 | +22.4% |
| All retail, September 2026 (provisional) | 33,357 | +6.4% |
| All retail, January to September 2026 (provisional) | 299,449 | +8.3% |
Source. C&SD Table 1, released 3 November 2026.
Figures. are sales value in Hong Kong dollars.
The category leads the year.
Nine months ahead. Category sales reached HK$45,820 million from January to September, up 22.4% on 2025. No other outlet type in Table 1 rose faster over the nine months.
Nearly a seventh. The category made 14.1% of September's HK$33,357 million in total retail sales, which rose 6.4%.
The government names visitors.
Commentary covers the total. A government spokesman ties total sales growth to solid local consumption sentiment, and says visitor arrivals and an earlier Mid-Autumn Festival this year also contributed. The release gives no cause for the jewellery category.
What to watch
- December 2026C&SD's October figures, with September revised. The test: whether the category's rise on a year earlier holds without the festival the government credits for September.
The story so far
Go deeper
What would change this call
If October shows the category falling on a year earlier, September reads as festival timing, which is how the government explains total sales. A revised September below 20% would weaken the call too.
How the department counts the category
C&SD publishes the value of retail sales by broad type of retail outlet each month, provisional for the latest month and revised a month later. The category is 'jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts'. Values are in Hong Kong dollars and are not adjusted for prices; the release gives a separate volume figure only for total retail.
Method
C&SD release, https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202611/03/P2026110300398.htm, read 9 November 2026, 200, 20,205 bytes: 'sales of jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts (+20.3% in value)'; total retail 'provisionally estimated at $33.4 billion, increased by 6.4%'; the commentary credits 'a pick-up in visitor arrivals and sales of festive items associated with the earlier arrival of Mid-Autumn Festival' for overall sales. The word 'jewellery' appears once in the release text, in the outlet list, and not in the commentary (grep of the text, 1 hit). Table 1 PDF, read 9 November, 200, 498,358 bytes: category row 5,153 (August, revised) / 4,706 (September) / 45,820 (January to September) / +12.2 / +20.3 / +22.4; all retail 32,076 / 33,357 / 299,449 / +5.6 / +6.4 / +8.3. Carat Capital's arithmetic: 4,706 / 5,153 = 0.913 -> 8.7% below August; 4,706 / 33,357 = 14.1%. The nine-month column was read row by row: the next-fastest outlet type is electrical goods at +20.6%. Carat Capital's 6 October page gave August as HK$5.14 billion, the provisional figure; it is revised to HK$5,153 million.