Bullion

Gold Prices Prompt Jewelry Sell-Offs

Filed under: Jewelry

With the prices of gold flirting with the $1,000 mark, more and more people are starting to look at their old jewelry and see serious dollars signs. The Wall Street Journal's Ann Zimmerman recently went on an odyssey to sell back some of her old jewelry. She found that gold refiners, wholesalers and jewelers have found that more people are wanting to cash out their jewelry lately because of the dual-pronged hit of rising gold prices and a slumping economy. Even some jewelry stores,suffering from economic pressures, are selling their old stock to refiners.

Zimmerman consulted David Firestone, of esteemed Boston jewelers Firestone & Parson, who said she could get at least 90% of the gold's value based on that day's price on the open market. Gold prices are based on 24 karats (pure gold) and most jewelry ranges from 10K to 18K so therefore the jewelry is worth a fraction of the 24K price. Any jeweler or gold dealer will also take a share of the profits so it pays to shop around. Zimmerman found that some jewelers were set to offer her 50% of the total or even less for the pieces.

Pawnshops are doing brisk business lately with many people dropping off their gold jewelry for a quick loan. The loans are often for around three months and most of the property is reclaimed by the owners.

Jewelers are finding that buying gold i...

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