Laopu Gold, the Chinese “Hermès of gold” that is shaking up French luxury

Should luxury be geared towards Chinese tastes ? The name Laopu Gold probably means nothing to you. This is because, worldwide, the Beijing-based gold jewelry brand is only sold in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. " In Asia, it's better known than Tiffany & Co. or Cartier, and as well known as a Labubu plush toy! " says a French expat in Beijing, where the brand was founded in 2009. This is confirmed by financial analyst Édouard Aubin, who estimates its Chinese sales in 2025, despite the boom in gold prices, at $2.77 billion, well above the $1.5 billion earned by the jeweler at 13 rue de la Paix.

Also read: From the Birkin-Labubu phenomenon to Nadège Vanhée's wife, Hermès gallops ahead in Shanghai

This new competitor for the three-hundred-year-old houses of Place Vendôme is not even twenty years old. In 2009, after launching a successful first company reselling jewelry and cultural objects, Xu Gaoming - a former fish farming civil servant and tourism entrepreneur - founded Laopu Gold (literally "old gold shop"), a small store specializing in traditional local goldsmithing, with a luxury positioning. Faced with Western jewelry competition, the designer deliberately takes the opposite approach to their refined and designer aesthetic by presenting gourd pendants and medallions in 24-carat gold featuring cultural lucky charm motifs (dragon, phoenix, etc.), opulent, fully sculpted cuffs, and other ornamental rings. All of this, exclusively in solid gold, with prices ranging from 1,300 to 12,000 euros. In 2018, thanks to the guochao movement (which promotes Chinese cultural heritage through local brands), the jeweler saw its popularity explode among a young clientele who nicknamed it "the Hermès of gold."

A year ago, sold in 36 stores in China, mostly located in gigantic shopping malls, Laopu Gold made its Hong Kong IPO, raising over $90 million with a valuation exceeding $640 million in one day. On June 21, the brand began its international expansion with its first boutique in Singapore. Enough to give the French workshops a run for their money...