National News
WGC Gold Demand Trends Q2 2026: Gold Demand In Q2 Remained Unchanged Year-On-Year
Investment Is Expected To Be The Principal Driver Of Gold Demand Growth Through The Remainder Of 2026, Supported By Increasing Buying Activity In Asia and Broader Over-The-Counter (OTC) Investment.
Total gold demand, including OTC investment and stock changes, remained steady at 1,269 tonnes during the second quarter. This brought total demand for the first half of 2026 to 2,522 tonnes, representing a 2% year-on-year increase. Gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced selling pressure in Q2, recording net outflows of 45 tonnes. These moderate outflows were driven by weaker gold prices and, particularly in North America, higher inflation and interest rate expectations alongside a stronger US dollar.
Key Highlights
Bar and coin investment remained stable year-on-year at 307 tonnes in the second quarter. This reflected a return to more normal demand levels following two exceptionally strong quarters.
Gold-backed ETFs came under selling pressure during Q2, with global holdings declining by 45 tonnes. The decrease resulted from combined outflows from both North American and Asian-listed funds.
Central banks significantly increased their gold purchases during the quarter. Following a noticeable slowdown in the first quarter, buying activity recovered sharply and returned to levels typically seen over the past four years.
Gold jewellery demand fell to 278 tonnes in Q2, marking the lowest quarterly level since the pandemic. Despite the decline in volumes, consumer spending on gold jewellery increased by 14% year-on-year to US$40 billion, as higher gold prices led consumers to allocate a larger share of spending toward gold jewellery.
Total gold supply remained broadly unchanged compared to the same period last year. A 2% increase in mine production offset a 6% decline in gold recycling, as lower quarter-on-quarter gold prices discouraged consumers from selling old gold jewellery.
Outlook
Investment is expected to remain the primary source of gold demand growth for the rest of 2026, with increasing support from Asian investors and broader OTC activity. Central banks are also expected to continue making significant gold purchases. Elevated gold prices are likely to keep jewellery demand volumes under pressure while prompting only a limited increase in mine production and recycled gold supply.
National News
Antistatus and Vandals: Jewellery For The Rebellious and The Defiant
These Brands Are Chasing A Consumer Who Has Grown Allergic To Templates.They Do Not Want Jewellery Merely To Signal Wealth, Marital Status Or Social Approval; They Want It To Signal Taste, Nerve and A Point Of View.
Status? Overrated. Rebellion? Wearable

Antistatus and Vandals are turning jewellery from a badge of conformity into a weapon of self-definition. One is a newly launched statement-silver label with a “Defy the Norm” manifesto; the other is a Mumbai-based avant-garde brand that treats every piece like graffiti. Together, they signal a shift: rebellion is no longer just a mood board—it is the product.
Antistatus: Status, Rewritten
Launched by former VIDA executives Manav Sethi and Pallavi Singh, Antistatus is a statement silver jewellery and lifestyle brand built around a deceptively simple idea: status is not assigned by society; it is defined by you.
The collection leans into biker culture, gothic aesthetics, music and street culture—think handcrafted statement rings, pendants, necklaces, bracelets and belt buckles with enough edge to make a boardroom feel like a back alley. The brand begins with men’s-focused, gender-neutral jewellery, then plans to expand into eyewear, bags and accessories.
Its pitch is not “look expensive.” It is “look like yourself.” Antistatus wants to build a community of people whose identity is theirs to define, not something society hands them with a dress code attached.
Vandals: Luxury with Spray Paint on Its Fingers

Vandals, founded by Vandana M. Jagwani, has been operating from a similarly unruly corner of Indian jewellery. The Mumbai label draws from street art, using jewellery as a way to question the status quo and leave a personal mark.
Its manifesto is explicit: artistic rebellion meets craftsmanship, and luxury is reimagined for “daring souls who defy the norm.” The brand blurs art and jewellery, positioning its audacious designs and sustainable practices as an alternative to safe, predictable luxury.
Where conventional fine jewellery often whispers heritage, Vandals prefers to shout individuality. Every piece is framed as a personal story—less “heirloom in a velvet box,” more “artwork that refuses to behave.”
The New Consumer: Anti-Template, Pro-Story
These brands are chasing a consumer who has grown allergic to templates. They do not want jewellery merely to signal wealth, marital status or social approval; they want it to signal taste, nerve and a point of view.
| Brand | Core attitude | Design language | Consumer promise |
| Antistatus | Defy the norm | Biker, gothic, music and street-inspired handcrafted silver | Define your own status |
| Vandals | Rebellion against the ordinary | Street-art-inspired, avant-garde, sustainable luxury | Leave your own mark |
Both are selling permission. Permission to wear silver that looks dangerous. Permission to reject the idea that polish equals propriety. Permission to make luxury feel personal rather than prescribed.
Why This Matters for Indian Jewellery
India’s jewellery market has long been dominated by occasion-led buying—weddings, festivals, gifting and investment. Antistatus and Vandals are carving out a different lane: everyday identity jewellery, where the purchase is emotional, stylistic and cultural rather than ceremonial.
Antistatus’s ambition to become an India-origin premium lifestyle brand with global reach suggests that rebellion is being treated as an exportable design language, not a passing trend. Vandals already demonstrates that Indian consumers will respond when jewellery carries ideology as well as sparkle.
The Verdict
Antistatus and Vandals are proof that the most compelling jewellery today is not necessarily the quietest. It is the kind that starts a conversation, breaks a rule and makes conformity look like the boring option.
In their hands, a ring is not just an accessory. It is a small, shining refusal.From statement silver with a streetwise edge to avant-garde pieces with graffiti in their soul, this is jewellery for the beautifully defiant.
Antistatus and Vandals are proving that the boldest jewellery isn’t made to blend in—it’s made to break rules, start conversations and define you on your own terms.
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