Repair & Resale Boom: Why Jewelry & Watch Repair Shops Could Be the Big Opportunity in 2026

For years, jewelry and watch repair businesses have been treated like the “back room” of the industry—important, sure, but not exactly the star of the show.

That’s changing fast.

Heading into 2026, repair, refurbishment, and resale are lining up as one of the most practical growth plays in the US and Canada jewelry market—especially for independent jewelers, multi-location repair operations, watch service facilities, and wholesalers who support them.

The reason is simple: new jewelry is getting more expensive, while consumers are getting more intentional. High precious-metal prices are driving sticker shock. Retail prices keep climbing. And shoppers are increasingly open to buying pre-owned—if it’s authenticated, serviced, and looks “like new.”

If you run a shop that can fix, refresh, certify, and track work properly (and communicate clearly), you’re not just in the repair business anymore. You’re in the value business. And 2026 looks like a great year to be there.

Let’s break down what’s fueling the repair + resale boom—and how repair shops can capture more revenue using the right workflows and repair-shop software.

1) The pricing pressure is real: gold hit record territory, and “new” is harder to justify

In 2025, gold didn’t just rise—it made headlines.

Reuters reported that spot gold pushed through $3,500/oz and logged multiple record highs, with prices up sharply year-to-date. World Gold Council commentary also noted gold breaking the $3,500/oz mark intraday in April 2025 and finishing the month above $3,300/oz.

And in late 2025, Reuters was printing spot gold levels above $4,000/oz amid macro uncertainty and rate expectations. Reuters

For consumers, that translates into:

• Higher tags on gold-heavy pieces
• More sensitivity to “value per gram”
• Greater interest in alternatives (vermeil, plated, mixed-metal) and, importantly… repair

Even mainstream coverage has highlighted jewelers leaning into gold-plated and vermeil to reduce sticker shock when gold is near record highs. New York Post

That same sticker shock pushes a second behavior: don’t buy new—revive what you already own.

A ring resizing, prong tightening, chain solder, replating, clasp upgrade, polishing, re-stringing, or stone reset feels financially sane when new jewelry prices keep climbing.

2) Resale is no longer niche—it’s normal, and jewelry/watches are value leaders

Resale isn’t just for apparel anymore. In luxury categories, watches and jewelry are some of the clearest “hold value” items—especially brands with strong equity and limited supply.

A 2025 Rebag-based analysis (reported by Business Insider) pointed out that certain jewelry and watch brands are holding their value unusually well, with some pieces reselling at (or above) retail—examples included Van Cleef & Arpels, Rolex, and Cartier performance in resale value retention.

And Deloitte has been flagging the structural shift in pre-owned watches: consumer interest in buying pre-owned has risen significantly since 2020, and Deloitte expects the pre-owned watch market to keep growing—along with brand participation in certified pre-owned.

Here’s the key for repair shops:

Resale growth creates repair demand.
Because the pre-owned supply chain needs:

• Inspection
• Servicing
• Authentication support
• Refurbishment (polish, bracelet repair, movement checks)
• Warranty-like documentation
• Parts inventory management

Repair isn’t just an add-on to resale—it’s the engine that makes resale credible.

3) Watches make repair “evergreen” — and 2026 should keep that momentum

Watches are a special category because maintenance isn’t optional forever. Battery changes, pressure testing, gaskets, bracelet work, crystal replacement, movement regulation, and full servicing are predictable needs—meaning repeatable revenue.

Deloitte’s watch industry work has been emphasizing changing consumer behavior and the growing importance of pre-owned/CPO dynamics in horology. And broader market commentary increasingly calls out pre-owned watches and sustainability as demand drivers.

That creates a flywheel:

1. More pre-owned watch buying
2. More servicing demand (pre-purchase checks + post-purchase service)
3. More refurbishment work (polish, bracelet restoration, seals)
4. More trust and repeat customers

If your shop is positioned as “the place that makes pre-owned safe,” you win.

4) Why repair shops could be a big opportunity in 2026

Repair businesses tend to have three things the rest of retail would love to have:

A) Built-in repeat visits
A customer who trusts you with repairs is incredibly likely to come back.

B) High-intent customer relationships
Someone handing you a family heirloom or a Rolex isn’t casually browsing. They’re invested.

C) A natural upsell moment
Repair intake is one of the easiest times to suggest improvements because the customer is already solving a problem.

Now add 2026 conditions:

• High materials cost keeps “new” expensive (gold trends support this).
• Resale normalization pushes more refurbishment and certification needs.
• Consumers want transparency and tracking like they get from modern e-commerce—status updates, ETAs, reminders.

That’s where the next section matters most.

The playbook: how to turn repair into higher revenue in 2026

1) Build a structured “repair-to-upgrade” upsell menu (so it doesn’t feel salesy)

Upsells work best in repair when they’re framed as “protect the piece” or “restore it fully,” not “buy more.”

High-performing upsells for jewelry repair:

• Prong retipping + tightening (bundle it with stone check)
• Rhodium plating refresh (especially for white gold)
• Clasp upgrades (lobster to box clasp; safety clasps)
• Chain thickness upgrade when a chain is worn thin
• Re-string + knotting with upgraded clasps for pearls
• Ring resizing + reshanking for worn bands
• Refurbish package: clean + polish + minor repairs + inspection

For watch service facilities:

• Pressure test / water resistance test
• Gasket replacement bundle
• Bracelet rebuild / pin + clasp service
• Crystal replacement (with AR options where appropriate)
• Movement regulation
• Full service tier (with clear inclusions)

Pro tip for 2026: publish this as a digital diagnostics checklist. Customers love clarity. Your staff loves consistency.

2) Launch subscription or membership services (this is the sleeper revenue lever)

If you want stable revenue, don’t rely only on one-off jobs.

A jewelry service subscription model in Canada or the US can be simple and profitable:

• Jewelry Care Club (monthly or annual)
  • 2 cleanings/year
  • 2 inspections/year
  • discounted plating
  • priority turnaround
  • discounted resizing or clasp fixes
• Watch Wellness Plan
  • battery changes included (where applicable)
  • annual pressure test
  • bracelet cleaning + adjustment
  • preferred pricing on full servicing

Subscriptions do two things:

1. Lock in repeat visits (which drive additional spend)
2. Give you a predictable base of work to plan staffing and parts

The key is operational: you need customer history, reminders, and clean tracking. Otherwise memberships become chaos fast.

3) Treat digital diagnostics like your new front desk

In 2026, customers expect the repair experience to feel like:

• “Order received”
• “Diagnosis complete”
• “Estimate approved”
• “In progress”
• “Ready”

That is not “extra.” It’s the standard created by every other industry.

Digital diagnostics can include:

• Photo intake at drop-off
• Condition notes (scratches, stone condition, missing parts)
• Serial number capture for watches
• Quick estimates with a structured checklist
• Automated approvals (text/email “Approve estimate” links)

And yes, it reduces “where is my item?” calls—one of the most expensive kinds of customer service work.

4) Inventory and parts control: the biggest invisible profit leak

If you service watches, parts and consumables are everything: gaskets, batteries, spring bars, crystals, clasps, straps, screws.

If you do jewelry repair, it’s findings, clasps, solder, settings, sizing stock, plating supplies, and stone replacements.

When parts aren’t tracked properly, you lose money in three ways:

• Rush ordering and shipping fees
• Job delays (and customer dissatisfaction)
• Mispriced estimates (margin leaks)

This is why repair shops increasingly need jewelry repair business software in the US and Canada that supports parts inventory tied to job tickets—so you can see true job profitability.

Where Luxare by Diaspark fits (without making this a sales pitch)

Luxare by Diaspark serves jewelry and watch retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and repair facilities across the US and Canada. In the repair + resale moment, the value is pretty straightforward:

• Digital job tracking from intake to delivery
• Customer history (what was done, when, at what price)
• Automated notifications (status updates, approvals, reminders)
• Parts inventory linked to service workflows
• Analytics to understand:
  • which services drive the most margin
  • average turnaround time
  • repeat customer rate
  • upsell conversion by repair type

In a world where gold prices and retail pricing push customers to repair/refurbish instead of buy new, these workflows become a competitive advantage—not just an operational nice-to-have.

2026 positioning: “repair + resale enablement” is the new niche

Here’s the punchline:

If you’re a repair shop, you’re not competing only with the shop down the street.

You’re competing with:

• The customer doing nothing (leaving the item in a drawer)
• Marketplace uncertainty (“Can I trust this pre-owned buy?”)
• Big-box repair counters that feel transactional and opaque

Your edge in 2026 is being the shop that makes repair and resale safe, trackable, and premium-feeling.

And when resale keeps growing—especially in watches—you can become the service backbone that the whole local ecosystem depends on.

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