Wearing Out the Cost: Gold Prices Reach New Heights

The price of gold has reached an all-time high, exceeding $3,000 per ounce. According to experts, this represents an 18% increase since January, a 30% rise over the past year, and a 50% jump in three years.

To understand what this means for jewelers and consumers, The Scripps News Group spoke with Les Gold, president of American Jewelry and Loan, as well as a financial advisor and local jewelry store owners.

“It’s really amazing watching the price of gold fluctuate so much," said Les Gold, president of American Jewelry and Loan.

"When I got into the business, gold was $36 an ounce," he added. Today, it's at an all-time high.

“Gold is historically viewed as a good hedge against inflation, hedge meaning a place of safety to offset some of the volatility in the traditional financial markets, or the stock market," said Jordan Rosenberg, partner at The Rosenberg Group and financial advisor at Bair.

Rosenberg attributed the spike to market uncertainty, central banks increasing their gold holdings, and fixed supply leading to higher prices.

For consumers who trade in their gold, the rising price could mean a bigger payday. "It’s like a wearable investment," said Gold.

“I want to say about eight months ago, I paid roughly six, seven hundred dollars for it, and Les offered me $1,300 for it," said Derek Attard, one of Gold's regular customers.

Jewelers are also seeing substantial price hikes in gold. "We’ve noticed dramatic increases from just a year ago when it was in the $2,200 range per ounce to over $3,000 now," said Mike Schowalter, co-owner of Miner's Den Jewelers.

However, Schowalter noted that customers may not perceive the price increase due to the small amount of gold used in jewelry. "Remember, a pair of earrings might just be a fraction of an ounce of gold, so they don’t perceive that the price is any higher."

Experts predict it's possible for the price of gold per ounce to continue climbing. However, Schowalter was skeptical about how much more the price can go up.