You may or may not know, but in the past 12 months gold prices have gone beyond crazy. From around $750 per ounce (which is about 29 grams) for pure 24k gold to a whopping $1200 per ounce. That is over a 50% increase in a year alone. One would assume that prices would have risen for gold and diamond jewelry, but the delayed effect still hasn't hit the retailers who have kept prices low to stay competitive. One of the most popular ways retailers have used to stay competitive is to reduce the purity of gold in their jewelry. Most online jewelers will still offer 18k or 14k gold as standard, however many retailers in the US and UK are marketing heavily 10k and 9k gold jewelry at great prices. Do remember, however , that 10k and 9k gold are 40% or less pure gold and so are mostly silver or cheap metal alloys, rather than gold.
Now no one knows the future and there is of course a ton of speculation around the price of gold, not least from investors. The Indian and Russian governments purchased 20 tons of pure gold each (which is one reason for the most recent surge). Gold is a great investment and has seen a steady rise just above inflation throughout its history, more so in the face of a weak dollar. These prices are of course record breaking and either they will go the way of crude oil (which hit record highs of $128 last June and then crashed to $32 with the economic downturn – it is now around the $70-80 mark, which most believe to be its real market value), or it will continue to rise. Hopefully for all jewelry lovers (and manufacturers), the prices will lower.
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