To open a jewelry store in Switzerland as a foreign entrepreneur you need no licence: a company entered in the commercial register and a shop are enough. The surprise comes from the stock. Every piece in gold, silver, platinum or palladium must carry a fineness mark and a responsibility mark registered with the Central Office for Precious Metals Control, or it cannot be sold, even when it is properly hallmarked in its country of origin. On top of that come rules on buying old gold from customers, cash identification thresholds clarified on 1 October 2026, CITES for some materials and tight limits on the words Swiss made. This guide takes them one by one, for a shop with or without a workshop.
Contents
- No licence, but a controlled trade
- Fineness and responsibility mark: the two compulsory marks
- Importing jewelry made abroad
- Buying gold from your customers
- Cash payments: CHF 100,000 or CHF 15,000
- Ivory, coral, tortoiseshell: CITES
- What Swiss made allows, and what it rules out
- Residence, company and VAT
- Costly mistakes
- FAQ
Scope of this guide
This guide covers jewelry stores: retail sales, with or without a design or repair workshop. It does not deal with trading, refining or melting precious metals (melter’s licence, trade assayer), nor with the trade in rough diamonds, which follow much stricter rules. For trading, see our guide to setting up a commodity trading company in Switzerland.
No licence, but a controlled trade
No federal law makes opening a jewelry store subject to a licence. The federal vocational certificate for jewellers (CFC bijoutier-joaillier in French) exists and counts in a workshop, but it is not a condition for entering the company in the commercial register or for selling. Search for jewellery shop rules in Switzerland and you mostly find directories, job offers and training courses; the rules of the trade actually sit in the Precious Metals Control Act (PMCA), which applies to every piece placed on the market, wherever it was made.
Only one way of selling is excluded from the outset: “The hawking of articles subject to this Act is prohibited. This ban also applies to the taking of orders by retail sales representatives” (Art. 23 PMCA). Selling precious metal jewelry door to door, or through travelling representatives who collect orders from private customers, is therefore not an option. The ban targets itinerant selling; a shop with a counter and a window display is not affected.
Fineness and responsibility mark: the two compulsory marks
The Act covers four metals: gold, silver, platinum and palladium (Art. 1(1) PMCA). A piece made entirely of these metals at a legal standard of fineness, or combining them with a non-metallic material such as stones or pearls, is a precious metal article (Art. 1(4) PMCA). Two marks decide whether it may be sold:
| Requirement | What the Act says | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Fineness mark | “Precious metal articles may only be placed on the market with a legal fineness mark.” Fineness is the purity of the precious metal in an alloy, measured in parts per thousand. | Art. 3 and 7 PMCA |
| Responsibility mark | In addition to the prescribed marks, precious metal articles must bear a responsibility mark, which identifies its owner. A manufacturer who does not produce the articles itself may have its trademark stamped as a responsibility mark. | Art. 9 and 10 PMCA |
| Registration of the mark | The responsibility mark must be submitted in writing to the Central Office for registration. An owner who is not listed in the Swiss commercial register or not resident in Switzerland may be asked to provide collateral. | Art. 11 PMCA |
| Misleading marks | Any mark likely to mislead is prohibited on precious metal articles, plated articles and imitations. | Art. 6 PMCA |
Source: Federal Act on the Control of the Trade in Precious Metals and Precious Metal Articles (Precious Metals Control Act, PMCA), SR 941.31, version in force since 1 July 2023, official English translation.
The two marks travel together: a fineness mark may not be applied unless the responsibility mark is applied at the same time (Art. 9(4) PMCA). Official control, meaning hallmarking by an assay office, is compulsory only for watch-cases made of precious metal. For jewelry it is optional and takes place at the owner’s request (Art. 13 PMCA); the office then checks that the marks are accurate and admissible (Art. 14 PMCA). What every ring, chain or pendant must carry, without exception, is the fineness mark and a responsibility mark registered in Switzerland.
Your jewelry store in Switzerland
The company in place before the first delivery
Choice of canton and legal form, incorporation and commercial register entry, a resident director while you still live abroad, registered address, stock accounting, VAT and import VAT records: My Swiss Company SA incorporates and administers your company from Geneva, Lucerne or Zug.
Scope your project
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My Swiss Company’s view
Register your responsibility mark before placing your first order with a workshop abroad, and send it to your manufacturers so that they stamp it together with the fineness mark. Stock that arrives without a registered mark cannot go on sale as it is, and a late opening costs far more than a mark planned from day one.
Importing jewelry made abroad
Jewelry made in Italy, France, the United States or Thailand gets no automatic equivalence in Switzerland: “Articles manufactured abroad and governed by this Act may only be placed on the domestic market if they comply with the provisions of this Act” (Art. 20(1) PMCA). A foreign hallmark does not replace the Swiss fineness mark and the registered responsibility mark.
The check can happen at the border. Articles governed by the Act “may be subject to comprehensive or random testing on import”, and if the testing reveals an offence, the article must be seized and forwarded to the Central Office (Art. 20(3) PMCA).
On the cost side, Switzerland abolished customs duties on industrial products on 1 January 2024, jewelry and the other goods of chapter 71 of the customs tariff included. Import VAT of 8.1% is still due on the value of the goods. The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) collects it on entry, and your company recovers it as input tax once it is registered for VAT.
Buying gold from your customers
Many jewelers buy back old gold jewelry, either as a trade-in against a new piece or to sell it on to a refiner. Since 1 January 2023 this activity has its own rule: “Any person who commercially purchases melt material within the meaning of Article 1 paragraph 3 letter b or c must ascertain the origin of the goods and document this” (Art. 31a(1) PMCA). Melt material includes waste from the processing of precious metals and any material containing precious metal that can be reclaimed (Art. 1(3) PMCA), which covers old jewelry bought for melting.
Registration depends on your status. A buyer entered in the Swiss commercial register must register with the Central Office (Art. 31a(2) PMCA); one who is not needs a purchase licence (Art. 31a(3) PMCA). The Federal Council defines commercial purchasing in more detail by ordinance (Art. 31a(5) PMCA). If buying gold is part of your business plan, ask the Central Office before opening how your volume will be treated, and keep a record of sellers and pieces from the first purchase.
Cash payments: CHF 100,000 or CHF 15,000
The Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) applies to “natural persons and legal entities that deal in goods commercially and in doing so accept cash (dealers)” (Art. 2(1)(b) AMLA). Its duties start when it accepts “more than 100,000 francs in cash in the course of a commercial transaction”: verifying the customer’s identity, establishing the beneficial owner and keeping records (Art. 8a(1) AMLA).
The threshold falls to CHF 15,000 for transactions involving precious metals or precious stones (Art. 8a(2bis) AMLA), and a payment split into instalments counts as a whole once the instalments together exceed the threshold (Art. 8a(3) AMLA). The Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO), amended on 1 October 2026, now specifies what falls under the lower threshold (Art. 15a AMLO):
- Precious metals: melt products such as ingots and bars, melt material (old gold included) and semi-finished products.
- Precious stones: rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds that are not strung, mounted or set.
A finished piece paid in cash therefore stays under the general CHF 100,000 threshold, while a loose diamond, or old gold sold for cash, drops to CHF 15,000. Card payments and bank transfers do not trigger these duties at all.
Ivory, coral, tortoiseshell: CITES
Some jewelry is made from protected species: ivory, certain corals, tortoiseshell. The Federal Act on the Trade in Protected Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES Act) treats products made from protected animals as specimens (Art. 3). Importing them requires a permit from the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) (Art. 7), anyone who sells them must hand the buyer the documents proving their origin and the lawfulness of their trade (Art. 10), and a business that trades in them professionally keeps a register (Art. 11).
The status depends on the exact species, not on the material in general. Before listing a coral necklace or an antique ivory brooch, check the species in the Species+ database or with the FSVO.
What Swiss made allows, and what it rules out
For an industrial product, the Swiss indication of source requires at least 60% of the manufacturing costs to be incurred in Switzerland, and the activity that gave the product its essential characteristics must take place there: “In all cases, an essential manufacturing step must have been carried out at this place” (Art. 48c Trade Mark Protection Act). A piece imported and only sold in Switzerland cannot be presented as Swiss made.
The picture changes for a jeweler who designs and makes pieces in their own Swiss workshop: that business can build its brand on the claim, provided it can document the costs piece by piece. Our Geneva subsidiary RISTER covers the practical use of the label in its article on the Swiss made label.
Residence, company and VAT
The founder’s nationality sets the route. A national of the EU or EFTA who settles in Switzerland to work on a self-employed basis receives a residence permit valid for at least five years once that establishment is proven (Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, Annex I, Art. 12). A national of another country, the United States included, may be admitted as self-employed only if this is in the interests of the economy as a whole, the financial and operational requirements are met and the founder has an adequate, independent source of income (Art. 19 Foreign Nationals and Integration Act). In both cases the company must be represented by a person resident in Switzerland (Art. 814(3) CO for a GmbH, Art. 718(4) CO for an AG).
To start a jewellery business in Switzerland, a GmbH with CHF 20,000 of fully paid-up capital is usually enough. An AG, with CHF 100,000 of capital of which at least CHF 50,000 is paid up, reassures suppliers and insurers when the stock is large. Our guide to company incorporation in Switzerland covers the steps. VAT registration becomes mandatory once annual turnover reaches CHF 100,000 (Art. 10(2)(a) VAT Act), a threshold a jewelry store crosses quickly.
A worked example: a US designer in Zurich
A jewelry designer based in New York decides to open a shop in Zurich. Her gold rings and earrings are made by a workshop in New York. She sets up a GmbH, represented by a managing director resident in Switzerland while her permit application is pending, and has the company, once entered in the commercial register, file the responsibility mark with the Central Office. Had she filed it in her own name from New York, she could have been asked for collateral (Art. 11(2) PMCA).
The New York workshop stamps her mark together with the fineness mark before shipping. On arrival in Switzerland the pieces may be tested; she pays 8.1% import VAT, no customs duty, and recovers the VAT as input tax. A few months later a customer pays CHF 22,000 in cash for a ring set with a sapphire: it is a finished piece, the applicable threshold is CHF 100,000 and no AMLA identification is required. Had the same customer bought the loose sapphire for that price in cash, the CHF 15,000 threshold would have applied. She does not label her rings Swiss made, since they are made in New York.
Costly mistakes
- Importing stock without a responsibility mark registered in Switzerland, on the assumption that the home-country hallmark is enough.
- Selling door to door or through travelling representatives, which the Act prohibits.
- Buying old gold without records and without registering with the Central Office.
- Accepting CHF 20,000 in banknotes for a loose diamond without identifying the buyer.
- Displaying an ivory or coral piece without proof of its lawful origin.
- Putting Swiss made on jewelry manufactured abroad.
FAQ: how to open a jewelry store in Switzerland
Do you need a licence to open a jewelry store in Switzerland?
No. No federal licence is required to sell jewelry. Every piece in gold, silver, platinum or palladium must, however, carry a fineness mark and a responsibility mark registered with the Central Office for Precious Metals Control (Art. 7, 9 and 11 PMCA).
What is a responsibility mark?
It is the mark that identifies the manufacturer or the trader responsible for a precious metal article (Art. 9 and 10 PMCA). It must be registered with the Central Office and applied at the same time as the fineness mark. A retailer who has pieces made by others may have its own trademark stamped as a responsibility mark.
Can you sell jewelry made abroad?
Yes, if it complies with Swiss law: a legal fineness mark and a registered responsibility mark (Art. 20 PMCA). Pieces may be tested on import, and articles that reveal an offence are seized. Jewelry has been free of customs duty since 2024, but 8.1% import VAT applies.
Can a jeweler buy gold from customers?
Yes, but a commercial buyer of melt material must ascertain and document the origin of the gold, and register with the Central Office if entered in the commercial register (Art. 31a PMCA, in force since 1 January 2023).
When must a jeweler identify a cash buyer?
Above CHF 100,000 in cash for a finished piece of jewelry. The threshold is CHF 15,000 for ingots, old gold, semi-finished products and rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds that are not set (Art. 8a AMLA and Art. 15a AMLO, in force since 1 October 2026). Card payments and bank transfers are not concerned.
Is door-to-door jewelry selling allowed?
No. Hawking precious metal articles is prohibited, and so is taking orders through retail sales representatives (Art. 23 PMCA). The ban concerns itinerant selling; selling from a shop is not affected.
Sources
- Precious Metals Control Act (PMCA), SR 941.31
- Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), SR 955.0, Art. 2 and 8a
- Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO), SR 955.01, Art. 15a (French)
- Federal Act on the Trade in Protected Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES Act), SR 453 (French)
- Trade Mark Protection Act (TmPA), SR 232.11, Art. 48c
- Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, SR 0.142.112.681 (French)
- Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA), SR 142.20
- Value Added Tax Act (VAT Act), SR 641.20
Conclusion
You can open a jewelry store in Switzerland from abroad without any licence, but every precious metal piece must carry its fineness mark and a registered responsibility mark, including the pieces that arrive from a foreign workshop. The order that avoids a late opening is simple: company first, then the responsibility mark, then the first order abroad. Old gold, cash, CITES and Swiss made complete the rules to settle before opening. My Swiss Company, a Swiss Corporate Services Provider in Geneva, Lucerne and Zug, incorporates and administers companies for founders from more than 20 countries, from incorporation to stock accounting.
