A record rise in the price of gold has seen locals rushing to reinvest in their precious jewellery.
Bay of Plenty residents have been flocking to have their treasured heirlooms revalued and repaired in order to satisfy insurance valuations, as well as selling up old pieces to make some extra money.
Glen Johnson, senior valuer at Jewellery Valuation Centre Tauranga, said many people hadn't fully appreciated the dramatic increase in the value of gold.
"A lot of people are really surprised. A piece of jewellery that was $2500 ten years ago might now be worth $5500.
"If I had a dollar for everyone that came in with grossly undervalued jewellery and were losing money on their items, I'd have a lot more dollars," he said.
And while the price of the precious metal may have pushed up the prices of new jewellery purchases, many consumers were cutting these costs with alternative options.
Bethlehem Jewellers owner Adrian Redding said many customers were taking the opportunity to sell their old items or to have them reworked into new designs.
"We're doing a lot more repairs. Because people can't afford to start from scratch like they used to, we're doing remakes using the customer's jewellery, reusing the gold. That's cheaper for them because it's just labour costs.
"People are also looking at cashing up, realising it [gold] is on a high," he said.
Jeweller David Peet agreed that selling old jewellery had become a major trend.
He said while sales of new stock had been down, business had remained steady, with customers selling their old pieces. "People are bringing in old, broken jewellery and are walking away with a lot of money.
"I'm buying back jewellery that people bought a few years ago, and they're making money.
"Gold has gone stupid. It's been going up and up and up," he said.
The value of gold has increased steadily in the past few years, and is predicted to continue on its illustrious climb.
Robert Kairua, specialist in precious metals at Grace Holdings, which trades bullion, said the international gold price continued to exceed industry forecasts.
Despite what has been labelled in the market as a healthy drop in the price of gold last Wednesday night, its value remained high at around US$1764 per ounce.
Mr Kairua said he had witnessed gold value rising rapidly since buying it at US$1141 per ounce less than two years ago.
He said gold remained a viable investment option, with experts predicting it could rise to as high as US$4000 in the next three to four years.
Trevor Astley, director of Regal Castings, the New Zealand distributors for the Perth Mint, said conservative estimates were that gold could reach US$2000 by the end of the year, and US$2300 by June 2012.
He said the value would jump again in the coming months thanks to the traditional wedding season in India as well as Christmas shopping on our own shores.
Because of its attractive value, New Zealand investors had pounced on the precious metal.
"We've definitely noticed an increase in demand in the last five years. And particularly in the last month, the interest has been phenomenal," Mr Astley said.
Selwyn Parker, director of Investment Management Solutions in Tauranga, said the reason for the prolonged value increase was a result of investor uncertainty in international currency markets.
"With the financial markets having a few scares, it has made people question if the system was sound.
"If other investments collapse, gold is a way of managing risk. It's a storer of value," he said.
Gold at a glance
Price of gold: Currently around US$1700 per ounce
Prediction: US$2000 by the end of the year; $2300 by mid-2012; up to $4000 in next few years.
To sell jewellery: A man's 9ct wedding band - $100; a woman's 18ct wedding band - $150; a fine to medium 9ct chain - $75-$500.
David Peet said that people should shop around for the best price when selling their old pieces. These prices are estimates only.