NS: Golden parties as people cash in on price boom
IF you have any old gold jewellery lying at the bottom of your dressing room drawer gathering dust, you could well be sitting on a small fortune.
With the price of gold reaching record highs last week - $1300 an ounce (31.1 grams) - many people are selling their old gold pieces for cold hard cash.
Gold prices have risen by more than 10 per cent since November 3.
"With some central banks keen to rebuild their gold reserves, this has fuelled a gold price rally," the National Australia Bank said in its gold market report yesterday.
This has sparked a growing number of sales of old gold pieces. Instead of furtively slipping into a pawn shop or Cash Converters, the owners are selling their gold jewellery to reputable gold exchange shops for cash.
The Gold Company director Roy Cohen said yesterday: "More women are realising gold is money. These women realise their old gold jewellery is now too old-fashioned to wear.
"The jewellery could be discarded pieces given by an old boyfriend, or family heirlooms that are too outdated in style," he said. "With their children not interested in inheriting these pieces, many are selling off their gold pieces for cash."
Yesterday alone, Mr Cohen bought 572 grams of gold jewellery from various customers for $10,000. "If you pay hundreds of dollars for a designer bag or sunglasses, you will get hardly anything back if you sell it on eBay," he said.
"Gold retains its value."
Mr Cohen said he often advised customers to sell their old gold jewellery intact, as they could get more money for the pieces because of the craftsmanship or design.
"If they are unsuccessful, then they should sell their gold pieces to a reputable shop," he said.
Indeed, selling old gold pieces has become so popular that many women are now organising gold parties at home, where a few friends gather to sell their old jewellery and a gold expert is invited to buy it.
Mr Cohen explained that all pieces were weighed and tested to make sure they were not gold-plated jewellery.
The value of the jewellery depended on the gold content. For instance, a 9 carat gold ring or bracelet is only 37 per cent gold, 18 carats is 75 per cent, and 22 carats is 91 per cent.
After taking its cut, Mr Cohen's company often pays between 80 per cent and 90 per cent of the jewellery's gold value, which works out to be an average of between $950 and $1000 for each 30g of gold.
The jewellery is then sent off to a specialist refinery or mint to be melted, and the pure gold content extracted.
The company later trades the gold on the open market.
