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Young couples are increasingly renting gold jewellery for their weddings instead of buying it, as prices have surged over 66% this year
According to ET Today, the practice of 'renting gold' for weddings is gaining popularity among young people in China.
In Chinese culture, wearing gold jewellery on a wedding day traditionally symbolises auspiciousness and prosperity.
By choosing to rent rather than purchase, couples are able to honour this tradition while alleviating the financial strain caused by record-high gold prices.
Gold prices hit an all-time high of USD4,381.21 (about RM18,520) per ounce earlier this week, a 66% increase since the start of the year.
A Chengdu resident, surnamed Chen (transliteration), said she rented a set of gold jewellery weighing over 50g from a local jewellery rental platform, including dragon and phoenix bangles, a necklace, earrings, and a ring.
The seven-day rental cost less than 1,000 yuan (about RM593).
"If I were to buy this set, at the current price of 1,235 yuan (RM733) per gram, it would cost at least over 60,000 yuan (RM35,620). I won't wear it much after the wedding anyway, so it would be a waste to just let it sit there," Chen said.
In Hangzhou, a representative of a jewellery rental platform revealed that order volumes in early October have surged significantly compared to the same period last year
They added that about 80% of their customers are newlyweds born in the 1990s and 2000s.
With the rise of such services, renting lightweight gold jewellery for daily wear is also becoming popular.
Lin (transliteration), a white-collar worker in Beijing, shared that she spends about 200 yuan (RM118) per month renting different styles of gold jewellery.
"Today I wear a thin bracelet, tomorrow I switch to a small pendant. I can change styles every day without spending a lot of money, and whether the gold price rises or falls doesn't affect me," she said.
She added that renting instead of buying allows her to stop agonising over the 'to-buy-or-not-to-buy' dilemma, making it both flexible and affordable.
