With the price of gold so high, what are you doing for your setting projects?

[Kim N]

Are you switching to lower gold content or alternative metals? Waiting it out? Melting other pieces to offset the cost? Biting the bullet and setting stones the same way you would have before the price went up?

 

[kenny]

I see no point in so-called precious metals when other mechanically sound metals can secure a diamond just as well, or better.
That's why I'm a titanium and cobalt chrome guy, even back when gold was only around $880 an ounce.

Now it's $2,740, likely a repercussion of US election uncertainly.
It's a great time to sell your gold, that is unless you feel the election result may bring even more economic uncertainty.

FWIW, my go-to website for watching gold prices is:

Live Gold Prices | Gold News And Analysis | Mining News | KITCO

KITCO Covers The Latest Gold News, Silver News, Live Gold Prices, Silver Prices, Gold Charts, Gold Rate, Mining News, ETF, FOREX, Bitcoin, Crypto, Stock Markets

www.kitco.com

For an example of "a picture is worth 1000 words", here is Kitgo's 10-year gold price chart.

 

[Bron357]

Yes, it’s giving me a dilemma. I’ve collected a lot of vintage manual wind watches over the years and need to downsize. I need to price them a decent amount over melt value or otherwise they’ll get bought for gold scrap. This is not what I want.
But selling a manual wind watch for $4,000 isn’t really feasible either. I’d be happy with like $2,500 but it’s melt value is around $3,300.
So I actually wouldn’t mind gold prices going down.

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

Over the years I've set a number of things in argentium silver, inc. my Todd Grey Asscher diamond. It wears well, does not tarnish, just a great white metal. I really love yellow gold but sheesh!

 

[Lookinagain]

I've only done one small project this year in 14k YG so I just paid what I was quoted by DK. It wasn't excessive. If I have a small stash of empty settings, broken chains and such so if I have another project anytime soon, I'll probably send that along to DK and he will give me credit for that. Or go with platinum which was always pricier in the past.

 

[Mreader]

I’ve been looking for pieces already made! I’ve gotten away from custom work altogether .

 

[jeaniefish]

I’ve been hanging on to scrap and broken pieces. They will be going to DK to help offset the cost of my latest ring project. Some special “ scrap” is my very, very old original engagement ring that David is going to repurpose into the band part of my new ring. I have been wanting to do that for a long time and now it’s finally happening !

 

[lavenderdragonfly23]

I’ve been “setting” my money in my jewelry fund

 

[Dreamer_D]

The price of settings is killing me! I have about 3-4 things I need to set but I can only really afford to set one in 2025. I am definitely thinking about going with lower kt metals. Though even then it’s only a difference of a few hundred.

The cost of labour has gone up a lot too. I definitely don’t begrudge people being paid a fair wage for their skills! But the confluence of higher labour and metal costs and general inflation is deflating. Buying vintage pieces is the only economical way, but that doesn’t help me set my loose stones.

 

[Kim N]

I wish I had pieces to melt down. I'm working on the one very small piece I can afford to get made right now, and that's going to be it for a while. I was actually trying to wait out the price increase since last year, which ended up being a big mistake.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I feel really lucky to be in a place where labour is cheap and so the price has only fluctuated because of price of gold… but the flip side is that the percentage increase in setting prices has been brutal.

I don’t buy a lot tbf, so it’s been okay for my own projects (plus I have some stuff I can scrap so I’ve been offsetting that way) but I’ve had a lot of close friends/family weddings end of this year and early next year and shelling out for gifts has been brutal. Like, brutal enough that every time I can get away with giving just cash I do, because my budget can’t shift upwards (since socially the expectation is that the “going gift” is kind of fixed within circles so that gifts don’t turn into obligations) but what I can buy with my budget is just not that nice anymore thanks to the price of gold eating away everything have pivoted HARD towards silver frames and the like (not that the price of silver is anything to sneeze at these days either).

 

[dk168]

I have used Rhodium-plated Silver for ring settings with my lesser CSs including lab stones, as I can't justify spending $$$ on settings with the stones only cost $.

DK

 

[tyty333]

Over the years I've set a number of things in argentium silver, inc. my Todd Grey Asscher diamond. It wears well, does not tarnish, just a great white metal. I really love yellow gold but sheesh!

Is there a place where we can see your Argentium silver pieces? I'm curious to see what they look like. Any links? Thanks
@Ibrakeforpossums !

 

[Arcadian]

even though I have settings and I have stones, I haven't set anything in a really long while. I kinda stopped wearing stuff on a more regular basis and this is why I stopped bothering. its like maybe I should wear some of this other stuff first you know?

 

[Avondale]

Simple.
No projects.

Not that I don't browse. I do, of course. But whenever I find something attractive and good looking on etsy/LT/IG, I go back to look at the ring I bought just a year ago that now costs twice what I paid for it just one year ago. And then I decide the money would be better spent if I put it towards my retirement fund.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Simple.
No projects.

Not that I don't browse. I do, of course. But whenever I find something attractive and good looking on etsy/LT/IG, I go back to look at the ring I bought just a year ago that now costs twice what I paid for it just one year ago. And then I decide the money would be better spent if I put it towards my retirement fund.

Is that just the cost of the gold? Could you scrap it one day if you don’t want it anymore? Obviously not as good as putting towards retirement but much more fun if you can wear and then scrap.

 

[Avondale]

Is that just the cost of the gold? Could you scrap it one day if you don’t want it anymore? Obviously not as good as putting towards retirement but much more fun if you can wear and then scrap.

No, I imagine it takes into account the price of the gems, too. But if we want to talk strictly gold, I was browsing Yvonne's website today, looking at pretties, and noticed the Lily rings had gone up about 40%. I ordered mine just this summer.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Recently I’ve been buying pre-made items at various jewelry shops. But that only works if you like the stock they have. I’ve bought quite a few things such as pearl bracelets and a gold forward pearl ring that I imagine would cost a fair bit in gold price.

I find the prices better because the stuff was made ages ago so they have set prices and don’t raise them with gold prices. Unlike custom projects which move with gold prices. I’m lucky I don’t have any unset stones. I tend to buy and set asap.

 

[lala646]

Like @Dreamer_D, I have loose stones I need to set, but I don't know how I want to set them yet, so I worry a bit that my indecision is going to end up costing me a pretty penny if gold keeps going up. I also have a bunch of scrap I need to sell, which will help, I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of dealing with the scrappers over in the diamond district.

 

[Dreamer_D]

No, I imagine it takes into account the price of the gems, too. But if we want to talk strictly gold, I was browsing Yvonne's website today, looking at pretties, and noticed the Lily rings had gone up about 40%. I ordered mine just this summer.

Yeah Yvonne was telling me that she had to increase the cost of all her settings bc of increases in metals and labour. You got in just in the nick of time! I might just have to set everything in silver...

 

[Dreamer_D]

Like @Dreamer_D, I have loose stones I need to set, but I don't know how I want to set them yet, so I worry a bit that my indecision is going to end up costing me a pretty penny if gold keeps going up. I also have a bunch of scrap I need to sell, which will help, I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of dealing with the scrappers over in the diamond district.

I wish I had a crystal ball. I am hoping to wait until January to get the ball rolling on my five stone setting, but then I keep worrying that the price of gold will keep climbing and the CAN-US exchange rate will keep falling and I will be SOL I have started the ball rolling on CADs, knowing it will take a long time for me to finalize those anyway... I wonder how long the quote I just got will be good for???

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

holy cow
there is this necklace i really want, its called the golden kiwi - its made in Nelson and the 18k version was given to the then Duchess of Cornwall now Queen Camila
last time i looked it was about NZ$1k for the 9k
now its


this was the price of the 18k one back in 2021
but it would have been gifted by the city of nelson in 2019 when the royal couple were last here
i think that is US dollars as its from OK magazine
the current price NZ$ for 18k gold is NZ$5490
todays conversion
NZD
5,490 NZD
is equal to
2,529.67 GBP
GBP
maybe they dont include the price of the chain because that seems a huge increase in only 5 or 6 years from 500 pounds to more than 2.5K

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

having trouble editing my last post
but this answers the question of this thread, as im now doing everything in silver (i mean i do love silver)
maybe i should just get this

 

[Avondale]

Yeah Yvonne was telling me that she had to increase the cost of all her settings bc of increases in metals and labour. You got in just in the nick of time! I might just have to set everything in silver...

It’s crazy to watch the prices rise so rapidly. I’m constantly in a cycle of alternating between “I’m splurging on this a little but I like it so much it’s worth it” and “damn it, looking at the prices now, I got one hell of a deal!”

I wonder how (and if) this affects business for the jewellers. Obviously, they have to keep prices up to par with business expenses. But what happens when the clients withdraw? In all honesty, if I was to order my Lily ring today, with the current prices, I straight up would’ve considered it too great of an expense and would’ve decided against it.

 

[Dreamer_D]

It’s crazy to watch the prices rise so rapidly. I’m constantly in a cycle of alternating between “I’m splurging on this a little but I like it so much it’s worth it” and “damn it, looking at the prices now, I got one hell of a deal!”

I wonder how (and if) this affects business for the jewellers. Obviously, they have to keep prices up to par with business expenses. But what happens when the clients withdraw? In all honesty, if I was to order my Lily ring today, with the current prices, I straight up would’ve considered it too great of an expense and would’ve decided against it.

I’m having a really hard time adjusting to inflation in all areas of life. Just constantly walking around like “what the heck!?!” It changed so quickly! I’m sure it affects small businesses and luxury businesses in particular. It must squeeze some clients out of the market completely as luxuries must be the first to go when the economy goes this way.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Just had another thought. I’ve always liked designs that are more “naked” and have less metal so that’s always served me well. Thank goodness I’m not into bezels. I’m always telling my bench I don’t want to see too much metal on the CADs.

Maybe I’ll just do stuff with more diamonds and less metal lol

 

[Dr_Diesel]

I'm all about platinum these days!!!

20 years ago, platinum projects were much more expensive than gold and always felt like the "premium" option....but now the roles are reversed.

I'm more than happy to take advantage of that opportunity. The biggest downside to platinum, in my eyes, it that it's near worthless as scrap, whereas gold can be endlessly recycled and resold.

If you need gold color, there is no shame in plating. In fact, there is a distinct advantage: you can get the rich 24k look without worrying your stones might fall out!

 

[Crimson]

I would love to see jewellers use more unusual metals like titanium (Austy Lee) or ceramic (Wallace Chan). But most jewellers here don’t like titanium because it has no scrap value and people in Asia usually want precious metals. I recently set a spinel in a plain rose golf ring to fit between two other rings that I have had for some time. The flowers spin! It is my fidget ring.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Just had another thought. I’ve always liked designs that are more “naked” and have less metal so that’s always served me well. Thank goodness I’m not into bezels. I’m always telling my bench I don’t want to see too much metal on the CADs.

Maybe I’ll just do stuff with more diamonds and less metal lol

You have the right idea imo with metal reduction - as I mentioned earlier that I’ve got a bunch of gifts to give this year, sucking the money pool dry, but at this point buying a natural diamond has become cheap enough that it’s become feasible to purchase solitaires in simple minimal gold settings! So my gold heavy projects may have to take a back seat but at least I can do diamonds which is exactly what I did for one person I had to give a gift to who was close enough for me to give something REALLY nice but not particular about what they received. I figure no one ever complained about a free diamond lol.

 

[Dr_Diesel]

You have the right idea imo with metal reduction - as I mentioned earlier that I’ve got a bunch of gifts to give this year, sucking the money pool dry, but at this point buying a natural diamond has become cheap enough that it’s become feasible to purchase solitaires in simple minimal gold settings! So my gold heavy projects may have to take a back seat but at least I can do diamonds which is exactly what I did for one person I had to give a gift to who was close enough for me to give something REALLY nice but not particular about what they received. I figure no one ever complained about a free diamond lol.

@CBianco