"Let's Make Gold Rings at Home"...Couple Earns 955,000 Won a Month from Gold Crafting [The World is Z Gold]

The 'Gold Crafting' Craze Spreads Through Social Media
Expressing Individuality with Self-Made Gold Jewelry
Gaining Attention as an Investment Asset

Editor's NoteGeneration Z (those born from the late 1990s to the early 2010s) is gaining attention as a generation that leads culture and trends in a rapidly changing era, setting new standards across society. In [The World is Z Gold], we shed light on the lives and values of Generation Z around the globe, and explore how they are changing society.

A trend is spreading among Generation Z in China, where people melt down gold they have purchased for investment or inherited, and craft jewelry that perfectly fits their personal style. Through social networking services (SNS), methods for gold crafting at home are rapidly spreading, emerging as a new cultural phenomenon among Generation Z.

The Spread of 'DIY Jewelry' Culture in China

Chinese influencer Wu Meng is melting golden beans with a torch. Xiaohongshu

Jing Daily, a Chinese luxury market media outlet, recently focused on the spread of DIY (do-it-yourself) jewelry culture, reporting, "As gold prices rise, a DIY craze is sweeping among young people, who are melting gold to create their own unique jewelry." The outlet added, "This trend is attracting massive attention on SNS, recording billions of views. The younger generation is creating a new culture by directly processing gold they have purchased as a safe asset in an unstable market, using it and expressing their individuality."

In fact, videos related to 'gold crafting (打金)' are continuously being uploaded on Chinese SNS platforms. On Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, the cumulative number of views for related videos has surpassed 3 billion, while on Xiaohongshu, often called the Chinese version of Instagram, the hashtag '#HomeGoldCrafting (居家打金)' has reached 40 million, generating significant buzz.

Chinese influencer Wu Meng also drew attention by posting a video on Xiaohongshu in which she melts golden beans to make a ring. Wu Meng placed golden beans in a plaster mold, heated them with a high-temperature torch to melt them, then solidified the shape in cold water, completing a butterfly-shaped ring. The video received more than 140,000 'likes,' garnering a huge response. Young people interested in gold crafting, like Wu Meng, are actively sharing practical information on SNS, such as safety precautions during the process and methods for removing impurities.

Some are even using gold crafting as a side business. One couple revealed on Xiaohongshu, "We earn about 50,000 yuan (approximately 955,000 won) per month through gold crafting." Thanks to this craze, gold crafting equipment such as polishing kits is quickly selling out on e-commerce platforms like Taobao.

China's 'Deflation' Fears Fuel Gold Market Boom

A gold crafting craze is sweeping among Generation Z in China.

The background to the gold crafting craze is economic instability within China. In addition, the US tariff war has further dampened consumer sentiment in China. Bloomberg News reported, "China's prolonged real estate crisis, deflationary pressures, and concerns about unemployment are weighing on consumer sentiment," adding, "although the US-China tariff war has entered a 90-day temporary truce, it suggests that active economic stimulus measures are needed."

As demand for safe assets like gold surges, gold jewelry consumption is also active, especially among Millennials and Generation Z. According to the World Gold Council (WGC), consumers aged 18 to 34 accounted for more than one-third of all gold jewelry sales in China last year. In February this year, at the Beijing department store 'SKP Beijing,' there was a remarkable scene in which people waited in line for up to eight hours to purchase pure gold jewelry.

However, there are observations that how long this phenomenon will last depends on future gold price trends. In April, the price of gold reached an all-time high of $3,494.84 per ounce. JP Morgan predicted that the average gold price in the fourth quarter of this year would reach $3,675 per ounce, and that it could even surpass $4,000 in the second quarter of next year. Goldman Sachs also raised its year-end gold price forecast from $3,300 to $3,700.