For the last couple of years, it's been hard to read a financial paper without headlines about the sky-rocketing price of gold. Yes, there is no question, a fine piece of gold jewellery is not going to be cheap. But it makes you wonder why people think it should be.
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The lustre of gold has entranced for millenia.
18ct gold Primavera diamond ring, and diamond flower garland |
People have unwritten expectations about their jewellery purchases that are unique compared to other wearable possessions. A piece is expected to last like the handed down jewels of their forebears. It's expected to still look good even after a generation of wear. Its value is expected to hold. Goldsmiths work within parameters that are probably unique to our trade.
In good times, a jewel says more than a gift of clothing or perfume could. In hard times, it may be the financial leverage that gets you through a rough patch. Gold jewellery is used to represent relationships, express love and signify status and taste. Precious jewels appear in great literature, fairy tales and myths.
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| Pearl drops with 18ct gold flower caps |
The historical value given to precious jewellery is indeed well established. So it is amazing that you can buy a good piece of fine jewellery in a similar price range to a luxury handbag. I don't think anyone really expects to get 100 years wear out of a bag, and to then be able to sell it in a vintage store for more than the original price. (Also, all the value in that bag is in the workmanship and the design. You can't break it down and expect any value from the leather and buckles.)
Some jewellers are responding to the gold price increases by making their work increasingly thinner and lighter (we goldsmiths joke that some of the big commercial chains must aerate their gold ;-)
Of course they are often also skimping where the consumer doesn't immediately see it ; with the workmanship, and by using offshore production (where jewellery can be made under poor working conditions). In other words, as a consumer, I'd see it as a worrying indication if my favourite jewellers prices
hadn't risen considerably recently.
There are positive signs that we are beginning to move away from our current mentality of 'disposability' to a returned appreciation of having fewer but better things. This move to quality is a blessing for the environment, and also makes sense financially. More people are realising it is better to invest in good workmanship and design for jewellery with lasting value instead of ten disposable costume pieces.
Fact is that gold has
always been for the elite. It says a lot about the modern world's general affluence that most women own a gold piece. Far from finding gold expensive (and believe me, I have high gold bills), I actually think it's extraordinary that such an exceptional, appreciated, rare metal is still within reach of most people.
Yes, it's expensive, and has risen a lot over the last year or two. But I bet people who think it's expensive now also thought it was expensive two years ago,
before the price of gold doubled. Given emerging markets such as China, that's only going to continue. One thing is for sure- gold has a proven track record!
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| 18ct gold Ivy leaf earrings |
