Hong Kong sales of jewelry, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts rose 11.9% in August from a year earlier, the largest outlet type by sales value in the city's latest official retail figures, according to provisional data from the Census and Statistics Department.

The numbers matter for anyone who owns or follows the city's listed jewelers and watch dealers. Hong Kong is the shop window where mainland Chinese shoppers buy gold, diamonds and Swiss watches, and the category's run of double-digit gains suggests that spending is coming back through the doors, even as luxury groups report softer demand inside mainland China.

August is the latest month published. The department released the figures on Oct. 2; September figures are due in early November. Company updates and tourism data for September, covered below, point in the same direction.

Jewelry and watches lead a 16-month retail run

Total retail sales rose 5.6% in August to a provisional HK$32.1 billion, up from a revised 4.5% gain in July, the department said. It was the 16th consecutive month of year-on-year growth, a government spokesman said in the release. For the first eight months of the year, sales value rose 8.5%.

After adjusting for price changes, sales volume rose a more modest 2.9% in August.

The jewelry and watch category has now topped the department's table, which ranks outlet types by sales value, two months running. In July, its sales value rose 19.7% from a year earlier, the fastest gain of any outlet type that month, according to the department's July release. Electrical goods posted the fastest August growth, at 29.1%, while department stores fell 2.6% and motor vehicles and parts slid 22%.

Seasonally adjusted figures were less upbeat. Retail sales value in the three months to August fell 4.6% from the previous three months, and volume fell 3.4%, the department said.

Online sales were 8.7% of the total in August, at HK$2.8 billion, up 9.9% from a year earlier. Watches and fine jewelry still sell mostly over the counter, which keeps Hong Kong's physical tourist districts central to the trade.

Chow Tai Fook's Hong Kong stores outpace the mainland

The clearest read on the third quarter so far comes from Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group. In its update for the three months ended Sept. 30, the company said retail value in Hong Kong, Macau and other markets rose 33.2% from a year earlier, according to its filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange. Same-store sales in Hong Kong and Macau climbed 29.6%, with Hong Kong alone up 24.0%, which the company tied to stronger consumer sentiment and customer traffic.

The mainland, which makes up 83% of Chow Tai Fook's retail value, moved the other way. Retail value there fell 5.3%, mainly because the company is shrinking its network: it opened 23 jewelry points of sale on the mainland in the quarter and closed 263. Group retail value slipped 0.5%.

The company also flagged that net profit for the six months to Sept. 30 should rise 90% to 100%, helped by a fair value gain on gold loan contracts. The average selling price of weight-based gold jewelry in Hong Kong and Macau fell to HK$15,400 from HK$16,800, while on the mainland it rose to HK$10,200 from HK$9,500.

The Hong Kong Retail Management Association said in early October that about three-quarters of the retailers it surveyed reported higher sales in September, according to China Daily. Chairwoman Annie Tse Yau On-yee linked part of the gain to better weather than a year earlier. Executive director Bond Law said foot traffic had risen but that visitors were still spending cautiously, and that he expected full-year retail growth in single digits.

Visitors return in force

Tourism is doing much of the work. Visitor arrivals reached 5.46 million in August, the highest monthly total since the pandemic, China Daily reported, citing the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

September arrivals rose 22% from a year earlier to about 4.03 million, the board said. Mainland visitors rose 29% to more than 3.17 million and made up over 78% of the total. Long-haul arrivals grew 20%, while short-haul arrivals fell 9%, which the board linked to flight capacity limits and fuel surcharges. Arrivals for the first nine months reached about 40.7 million, up 12%.

The board credited the Mid-Autumn Festival holidays and related events, and the comparison benefits from a weak base: severe weather hit the city in September 2025. That base effect is likely to show up in September retail figures too.

For collectors, the store data sit alongside a firmer export picture. Swiss shipments to the city edged up in September as well.

The next marker is the department's September retail report, which will show whether the jewelry and watch category kept its double-digit pace into a month that included the Mid-Autumn Festival holidays.