China Dowry Filled With Gold Signals Gains for Jewelers

Fang Yan figured a 12 percent drop in gold prices since January made this an ideal time to find some jewelry for her 18-year-old daughter’s dowry. She was too late.

All the bracelets of the sort she wanted to buy on a visit to Macau last week were gone as bargain-hunting Chinese shoppers had snapped up jewelry, coins and bars. At least 30 tons of gold were sold between April 29 and May 2 in Hong Kong, up more than 50 percent from last year, according to estimates by the city’s Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society.