Gold prices have reached record levels, up 45% year-on-year and over 100% in five years. Photo / Getty Images
By Susan Edmunds of RNZ
Any gold you’ve got stashed in your jewellery box could well be worth more than you think, auction houses say.
The price of gold has reached new record levels, up about 45% year-on-year and more than 100% over five years.
That’s also pushing up the price of gold jewellery, including pre-owned items.
Christine Power, head of fine jewels, watches and luxury accessories at auction house Webb’s said there had been a noticeable impact on values.
“People have started to realise that there is a return so we are finding that more people are going through their items at home and seeing what little treasures they might have and then they can bring it to us for a no-cost appraisal.”
She said there were a couple of ways the appraisal could be done.
“We are obviously looking at the finished weight of the item and then we’re looking at that against the current gold price.
“We can either look at the price per gram of an item or the gold per ounce and then we’ve noticed, year-on-year, in the last four years the gold price has moved up about 40%.
“So it has definitely changed the price of how we would have priced something four years ago to how we price it today.”
Plain gold items, such as fob chains and bangles, were particularly boosted by gold’s increase, she said.
An 18 carat yellow gold Tiffany bangle sold recently for $12,500 inclusive of buyer premium, a higher price than Webb’s had estimated. There was good demand for high-end brands, she said.
“We can present it to market really easily. It’s just a quick way of getting a return on your asset.
“It does have to be of a certain standard ... when we do our appraisals we’re looking at the finished pure gold price as opposed to if something was quite worn then we would pro-rate that in accordance.
“We wouldn’t necessarily be pricing that based off a fine gold price.”
Andrew Grigg, from Cordy’s, said some items “weighed too much for their own good” and end up being melted down to be turned into a new design.
“An attractive piece or a good vintage or antique piece of jewellery will always sell well and above its gold value but not all jewellery we sell fits into these categories.
“I suspect many of the 18kt gold gentleman’s pocket watches we sell are at gold value, as are sterling silver cutlery services.
“We are always safeguarding our clients’ gold and silver items with a reserve that is related to their melt price.”
Chris Smith, general manager at CMC Markets, said whether gold continued to increase in value would depend on the wider economic context.
“Gold’s recently hit another new all-time high at US$3450 on the back of dovish data that’s coming out of the US, which is setting them up for that September rate cut that marketers will be closely watching, which benefits gold.
The price passed US$3500 overnight.
“We’ve got the Fed decision on the 17th of September, so I think the market will be looking at the jobs report this week on Friday, which will be the key next data event to signal the September cut, if it’s going to be priced in.”
“As long as the Fed moves into rate-cutting mode, I don’t see any reason why gold is going to have a sharp pullback.
“I think central bank demand continues to be very strong. Silver’s actually getting a lot of attention at the moment, silver was up 7% almost in August. It’s up again 38% in the last year, in line with gold.
“So because silver’s a bit cheaper, we’re seeing a lot of interest in the markets really, in terms of silver as a catch-up play. Gold’s obviously had a few years of very strong performance. But yeah, it all lies on the Fed meeting.”
- RNZ