Does the price of gold affect the types of jewelry you buy..

[black jade]

..other than your e-ring?

I was at my local jeweller's today, getting a watch battery replaced. I noticed that all the gold is gone! It's not a matter of the color--there's hardly any gold there, either white or yellow. Except in the engagement rings (and to tell the truth, I didn't check them, many of them may be palladium).

He's now selling lots and lots of Pandora and also silver jewelry.


The sales clerk said that people don't buy gold anymore enough for them to 'stock' it--they now order it in as a special order item. She said this is a direct result of the prices being so very high.

she expressed regret that she has sold her 80's gold long ago--she would like to wear it again now, as it's back in style (partly because no one could afford those heavy chains at what they would cost now, and also, wearing them says that you're still well off enough not to have had to pawn or sell!)

I was just curious, have any of you on this thread changed your buying preferences because of gold prices? Or is she wrong and do people just buy silver and Pandora because they like it more, and not because of price?

 

[kat99]

Yes, the price is gold is super high right now it is almost the price of platinum (well still $300 off but that's crazy!) It's kind of like why you don't see much platinum jewelry out there either...

 

[Mimster]

Yes. I have inherited several loose stones and was thinking of getting them set but the price of gold plus labour cost would be too much for what I have in mind for them. So until the price of gold is more reasonable, I will wait. I'm in no hurry.

 

[Vegas Long Legs]

If my 80's necklaces hadn't all tangled I still
wouldn't be caught dead in them. I didn't wear hip huggers the second time around either.

She probably knows her market & who shops in her stores.

The price of gold
doesn't bother me as much as what some of these jewelers jack their prices of to 'for the design work'. At today's price,
there's maybe $1000 worth of gold in the item & they want $7500.00 for a gold bracelet.
They can keep it.

 

[mistikat]

Actually, silver is climbing too, so a lot of jewellers who switched to sterling to dodge the rising price of gold will get dinged on that too ... as will consumers, eventually.

 

[HauteMama]

Unfortunately, it has affected the jewelry I buy, not so much because of prices but because no one stocks quality pieces anymore. Almost all department store jewelry is going to 14K or even 10K, and even then the weights on the pieces are so flimsy that I wouldn't wear them anyway. I will pay the price for gold when I can find quality, good weight 18K pieces, and right now one of the few places is Blue Nile. And even their selection isn't what it once was.

 

[Candice0985]

A lot of jewellers have also switch because they find that the profit margins on brand name silver jewellery are higher then if they were to stock higher priced items such gold and diamonds. This is also due partly because of the economy and its a way for the jewellery industry to stay in business until people are spending their money on higher end goods again.

if you think about it, its kind of like the business model that Tiffany has had for years' make all profit on the lower priced merchandise and offer high end items (diamonds and gold) for less of profit than they make on the silver stuff

and no it hasn't affected my jewellery habits yet. I tend to like delicate gold settings (usually 18k but not heavy duty gold weight) that showcase gemstones. when I do buy or have a 18k or higher piece that's substantial; I buy it custom made instead of designer, which I find keeps the prices down a bit.

 

[Kitsunegrl]

It has affected my jewelry shopping because I can't find anything I like. I have a fondness for yellow gold and good workmanship. Everything that is gold now is so flimsy that it looks like bubblegum machine stuff.
I sold a lot of my gold that I bought on a whim and made a pretty nice bundle on it. I kept the stuff that I loved and am really enjoying my omega. The ones out there now are hollow or (even worse) filled with silicon!

 

[black jade]

If my 80's necklaces hadn't all tangled I still
wouldn't be caught dead in them. I didn't wear hip huggers the second time around either.

She probably knows her market & who shops in her stores.

The price of gold
doesn't bother me as much as what some of these jewelers jack their prices of to 'for the design work'. At today's price,
there's maybe $1000 worth of gold in the item & they want $7500.00 for a gold bracelet.
They can keep it.

This bothers me too.
And actually, they rarely have $1000 worth of gold in jewelry. that would be about 2/3 of an ounce of pure gold at today's prices, or about 20 grams. There's MUCH less than that in most pieces you buy. Rarely more than 7 or 8 grams to tell you the truth.

 

[black jade]

Actually, silver is climbing too, so a lot of jewellers who switched to sterling to dodge the rising price of gold will get dinged on that too ... as will consumers, eventually.

Yes, but it's still only $25 an ounce for silver.
But the pieces are marked up quite a bit from that. And again, you don't get to buy a whole ounce of silver in a given piece of jewelry. I find it interesting that in America jewelers are not required to tell the weight of the gold or silver in the piece. You only find that out when you go to sell the jewelry for cash, and find out it only weighs a few grams and is worth almost zilch. This is why all those 'get cash for gold' people only want to deal with you when you bring in a whole bunch of stuff (that you bought so long ago that you forgot the price, or it was gifts you didn't like) so you don't realize how little cash you are actually getting compared to what you spent.