Shoppers stocking up on gold jewellery as gifts for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day next month may be facing higher prices. But while lower priced alternatives are available, in metals such as silver, palladium and titanium, jewellery shop owners say the rising price of gold is only increasing its allure.
Retailers told The Wall Street Journal that high end jewellery is selling better than the lower end collections - and as trends in the US are often adopted by the UK high street not long after, the demand for gold keeps prices high.
"This past year was my biggest since 1999," says Marilu Klar, vice president of fine jewellery at Gump's San Francisco.
Gold prices held at $1,735 an ounce last week, as traders continued to back precious metals. Prices are up 10.9 per cent so far this year, and sales tripled in Dubai last month at the Dubai Shopping Festival. Gold was also a popular gift for Chinese New Year, and is continually in demand by the wedding industry, which continues to thrive in the UK. Such demand, coupled with lack of faith in traditional investments, is what keeps prices high.
"Gold has been trading along with everything else. It doesn't seem to be a risk trade at the moment, as much as a dollar/euro trade," said Citigroup analyst David Wilson.
In terms of 2012 gifts, yellow gold is becoming more popular. Wellendorff, a German luxury jewellery maker, told The Wall Street Journal that the shift may reflect the economic times.
"Yellow gold is more subtle," said managing director Christophe Wellendorff. White gold, he says, is associated with ‘a party mood’.
Metallurgist Thomas W. Eagar, a professor of materials engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told The Wall Street Journal that a 10 carat gold ring can look and wear the same as a 14 carat gold ring to the unprofessional eye.
"Titanium nitride can be made to look pretty close to 24 karat gold," Professor Eagar said. A scientific instrument ‘could tell the difference, but the average person couldn't," he believes.
"Don't think of rational behaviour when talking about buying jewellery," he said. "Think of emotions."
Brits who receive new jewellery for Valentine’s Day should look to cash in old and broken gold while
gold prices are so high.
It's best to
sell gold online to firms like Postgold4cash, as they will give you a fair price for the gold based on purity and weight. The gold is then likely to be melted down and recycled into other gold products or into bullion, which is popular with investors.
It is quick and easy to arrange online and it can help you clear out clutter and raise cash to pay essential bills.
Recycled gold can then be sent on to be remade into something special, as used gold is increasingly popular with ethically minded consumers, who are keen to avoid more gold being mined.
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