Apr 10, 2015 How much is that gold ring? I am often asked questions like " Is the same ring in gold more expensive than silver?" . The answer, unquestionably, is "yes". Here is a the recent history of gold in a nutshell. When I began making jewellery in the 1970's gold was selling for $30~$40 an ounce. I recall when it rose to $90 and everyone was aghast. Well now ( April 2015 ) it is in the area of $1500 CND. Gold price is always stated in US dollars. In this case $1200 US= $1500 CND. Today's prices are actually down from a few years ago when Gold soared to $2000 an ounce. To recap. 1970 -$35; today -$1500 for the same amount. That amount of silver, by the way, would cost about $20 today. The chart below represents the price of gold just for the past 15 years. So...that is one (troy) ounce of gold ; or 31 grams roughly. That amount of gold is only slightly larger than a Canadian twoonie. Unless you own your own gold mine, that is what you'll pay for it. When I purchase gold from a refinery ( which I do) I pay for refining costs and other fees & expenses. When the alloys are added, the gold ( & thus the cost) is reduced somewhat, depending on the karat. I can use a quantity of "old" gold in my castings bit I always add newly refined gold for more than half of the total weight. A trick of the trade for the commercial jewellery industry is to use as little gold in their work as possible. Ever look underneath your ring? In most cases it will be scooped out and pierced. The ring band will be shiny but it will often be thin and prone to eventual breakage. Our rings at MacLeod of Cape Breton are much more substantial than the standard commercial variety and they are designed to last a lifetime. Another factor that goes into the pricing of our jewellery is the original nature of our work. Our designs are either 100% original or incorporated with traditional ( such as Celtic) design. Our work is not high production and all of it is made on-site in our Cape Breton Studio by hand. Custom work takes much more time to craft and the price will reflect that. I do purchase gold scrap from customers and they are often happily surprised on their return from it, however, it should be noted that the value is considerably less than the value of newly refined gold. Here's why: The gold must be sorted and delivered to a refiner where it is re-cycled and refined ( alloys removed ). I pay to have it newly "karated" The process is costly but then gold is even more costly. Obviously, the "Sell" price to a refining company is always less than the "Buy" price. I hope this helps to clarify the intriguing nature of gold somewhat !
