Jewelry tariffs 2026: what changed and what to tell buyers

If you have lost track of jewelry tariffs in 2026, you are in good company. The rules have changed more often this year than most stores change their window displays, and if you fully understood them you would be a customs broker, charging for it.

You do not need all of it. A jewelry store owner needs three things: what the rate is on the goods you actually buy, whether anybody owes you money, and what to say when a customer asks why the price went up.

Here is the plain version. It is general information from trade and legal sources, current as of early November 2026, and it is not legal or customs advice. Rates may have moved since this was written.

TL;DR

The Supreme Court struck down the emergency tariffs on February 20. A temporary 10% tariff replaced them, and on July 24 new Section 301 tariffs replaced that, at 10% or 12.5% on imports from 60 countries. Raw and semi-manufactured precious metals are exempt. Loose natural diamonds, colored gemstones and natural pearls are exempt only from some countries. Lab-grown diamonds are not exempt. Tariffs follow the country of origin. If you imported goods yourself under the old tariffs, ask a broker or trade counsel whether you are owed a refund. Ask your vendors what is changing on what you buy. And do not use tariffs as an ad scare. If your price changed, say so plainly, and keep the feed and the site in agreement.

IWhat actually happened, in order.

February 20. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were not authorized. That took out the “reciprocal” tariffs and the country-specific ones on China, Canada and Mexico. It did not touch tariffs under other laws.

February to July. A temporary 10% tariff took their place.

July 24. That temporary tariff ran out, and new Section 301 tariffs took effect at midnight on imports from 60 countries, following a US Trade Representative investigation into forced labor practices.

After that. National Jeweler also reported a separate 50% tariff on a wide range of Canadian imports from mid-August, loose polished diamonds included, and a further Section 301 investigation into alleged “overproduction” that could add tariffs on 16 countries, among them India, China, Thailand, the EU and Switzerland.

So if you read something in the spring about India going to zero on diamonds, that was a framework announced in February. As of Rapaport’s reporting in late July, gems and jewelry from India sit at 10%. Check before you plan around it.

IIThe rates that matter for jewelry.

As listed by the Jewelers Vigilance Committee and reported by National Jeweler on July 24:

10%: India, the UK, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus Mexico and Canada for goods outside USMCA. The EU and Taiwan have a minimum of 10%, stacked on any existing duty.
12.5%: China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the UAE, Vietnam, Israel, Turkey, South Africa, Australia, Colombia and Angola. Switzerland, Japan and South Korea have a minimum of 12.5%, also stacked.
Brazil: 37.5% in total once an earlier 25% is added, though rough gemstones from Brazil are exempt.

What is exempt, and where people get confused.

Precious metals in raw or semi-manufactured form are exempt. A finished gold ring is not raw gold, so do not assume that one covers your finished jewelry.
Loose natural diamonds, colored gemstones and natural pearls are exempt, but only from certain countries: the EU, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Jordan, Switzerland and Taiwan.
Lab-grown diamonds are not on the exemption list.

One rule catches people out: the Jewelers Vigilance Committee notes that tariffs are based on a product’s country of origin, not the country it shipped from. Your vendor’s address is not the answer. Its Tariff Tracker is the place to check current rates, and it will be more up to date than this post.

IIIFind out whether anybody owes you money.

When the Supreme Court struck down the emergency tariffs, it did not say how refunds should work. A process has since been set up: JVC notes that US Customs launched its CAPE system for the first phase of refund requests on April 20. Signet reported about $15 million of refunds in its latest quarter.

Refunds generally go to whoever was the importer of record, which brings up the question most independents have never needed to ask.

If you imported anything yourself during that period, stones from a dealer abroad, a parcel from a manufacturer, call your customs broker or a trade attorney this week. There may be deadlines and this is real money.
If you only buy from US vendors, you were not the importer. Your vendor may have paid the tariff and passed it on to you in the price. It costs nothing to ask them whether they expect a refund and what they plan to do about pricing. Some will say nothing. Ask anyway.

JVC members can also go to JVC directly with this question, which is a good use of a membership.

IVAsk your vendors four questions.

You do not need to read the Federal Register. You need answers from the people selling to you.

Where is this piece actually made, or where was the stone from, for tariff purposes?
What duty applies to it now, and what did it change from?
Has your price changed because of it, and will it change again?
Are there substitutes from a lower-duty origin that are genuinely equivalent?

Then look at your own mix. If a line you carry has become much more expensive to land and customers will not pay more, that is a buying decision, and it is better made in November than discovered in February. As always, judge it on gross profit per sale in dollars, not on how the percentage feels.

VWhat to tell customers.

Very few of your customers care about Section 301. They care about two things: whether your price is fair, and whether you are being straight with them.

If your price has gone up, say so plainly when asked. “Costs on imported pieces went up this year, and some of our prices moved with them. Here is what you are getting for it.” That is a complete answer. It does not need a lecture on trade policy, and it does not need an apology.

Do not put tariffs in your ads as a scare. “Buy now before tariffs raise prices” is the kind of line that makes a fine jeweler sound like a mattress store on a holiday weekend. Unless you actually know your prices are going up on a specific date, it is also just not true, and the rules have changed repeatedly this year, so you do not know. Fake urgency brings in the wrong customer and costs you the right one. Your real deadlines, like the last day for custom work before Christmas, do the job honestly.

Do not add a “tariff surcharge” line at the counter without checking how it reads and whether you can back up the number. Nobody has ever felt better about a five-figure purchase after seeing it itemized like a phone bill.

Keep your prices consistent everywhere. If prices move, the site, the feed and the counter all have to move together. Google can disapprove a product when the feed and the page disagree, and a customer who sees two prices trusts neither.

VISelf-diagnostic: do you know what you are exposed to?

The tariff diagnostic.

Do you know the country of origin of your top ten selling lines?
Have you checked the current rates on JVC’s Tariff Tracker?
Did you import anything yourself under the old tariffs?
If so, has a broker or trade counsel looked at a refund claim?
Have you asked your vendors what changed and whether they expect a refund?
Do you know your gross profit per sale on the lines that got more expensive?
Can your staff answer “why did this go up?” in one honest sentence?
Do your ads use tariffs to scare people into buying?
Do your site, your feed and your counter show the same price?

If 3 is “yes” and 4 is “no”, stop reading blogs and make the phone call.

Straight answers

What tariffs apply to jewelry in 2026?

Since July 24, 2026, new Section 301 tariffs have applied to imports from 60 countries, generally at 10% or 12.5% depending on the country, as listed by the Jewelers Vigilance Committee and reported by National Jeweler. India and the UK are at 10%, and China, Hong Kong and Thailand at 12.5%, among others. Rates change, so check JVC’s Tariff Tracker before relying on any figure.

Are diamonds subject to tariffs?

It depends on the type and the origin. Loose natural diamonds are exempt from the Section 301 tariffs only from certain countries, including the EU, Switzerland, Cambodia and Indonesia. As reported in late July, Indian diamonds were not on that list and sat at 10%. Canada faces a separate 50% tariff on a wide range of goods, including loose polished diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds are not on the exemption list.

Is gold subject to the new tariffs?

Precious metals in raw or semi-manufactured form are exempt, according to National Jeweler. That does not automatically cover finished jewelry, which is treated according to its own classification and country of origin. Check with your vendor or customs broker for specific goods.

Can a jeweler get a tariff refund?

Possibly, if you were the importer of record for goods hit by the tariffs the Supreme Court struck down in February 2026. US Customs launched a refund system for the first phase of requests on April 20, 2026. Talk to a customs broker or trade counsel about your own situation. If you only bought from US vendors, ask them whether they expect a refund and how it might affect your pricing.

Should a jewelry store mention tariffs in its ads?

We would not use them as a scare. “Buy before tariffs raise prices” attracts the wrong customer, makes a fine jeweler sound desperate, and is rarely something you can truly promise. If a customer asks why a price changed, answer plainly and briefly. Use real deadlines, like last-order dates for custom work, when you want people to act.

How do tariffs affect lab-grown diamonds?

Lab-grown diamonds are not on the Section 301 exemption list, so the rate for their country of origin applies, according to National Jeweler’s July reporting. Check the current rate for your vendors’ origins on JVC’s Tariff Tracker.

This is part of our fine-jewelry operating series. For keeping prices consistent where it counts, see Google Shopping for fine jewelry: the feed is the ad. For how to judge any of this, see how to advertise jewelry to attract high-value customers.

Check the tracker. Call the broker. Ask your vendors. Say it straight. Leave it out of the ads. If you want an operator who keeps the rest of your marketing out of this kind of noise, see how we work or email info@endicodatastrategic.com directly. The founder reads every inquiry within one business day.

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