Several year price chart for gold at the time of writing this blog post. (click for full screen)
100 year price chart for the cost of gold. (click for full screen)
The World Gold Market and Your wedding rings
Currently the price of gold is on a steep incline. No one knows for sure, but at the time of writing this the cost is projected to continue to rise. (You can check your trusted news source to find the most up-to-date info for projections as this is developing daily.) Gold has been considered highly valuable for thousands of years. It always has its highs and lows, but historically the long term trend has been upward.
The world gold market is always impacted by economic and political world events, supply and demand, the strength of the dollar, interest rates and more. Tariffs do not directly contribute to the cost of gold, but they will influence its value due to their impact on the world economic and political landscape. Gold is also known as a safe-haven asset. In times of trade uncertainty or economic instability, many investors look to safe-haven assets like gold. This impacts supply and demand, driving up the price. The price of gold you see in the metal market is based on 1oz of pure, 24k gold. Your rings will contain just a fraction of this.
I am not sharing this to be an alarmist, but so that my clients can make informed decisions about their rings and have control where they are able. As a very small business I am navigating the market in real time with you. I always like to keep my pricing transparent with my clients, so I am planning to keep my clients at the forefront of my mind as the market continues to shift. I am offering my clients the option to lock in your gold price at any point. After booking your workshop you will fill out your metal order form and pay your metal balance, this will confirm your price.
Example of metal stock, next to finished rings.
Ordering your metal
The metal you make your rings from starts as milled stock. This is considered a raw material manufactured by a US based refiner. After booking your workshop you will fill out a metal order form, based on your metal color, karat, width, shape and size. If you are unsure of what you would like I recommend going to a big chain jewelry store where you can try on a variety of rings and see what you like on your hand. You can find lots of helpful links on my site for filling out your metal order:
Gold stock in a proposal box.
Planning Ahead
I have had a handful of clients over the years who wanted to propose with their raw gold stock and then book their workshop after proposing. This could be a good option for couples who know they want to make their rings with me sometime down the road and want to lock in their gold price now.
Please reach out to me if this is something that you are interested in.
Palladium
Palladium white gold has always been higher in price than the other gold alloys that I offer. It is still the higher alloy, but it is currently much closer in price to other gold alloys than in past years. This is because unlike gold, with its historical long term upward trend, palladium tends to fluctuate more and is currently on the lower end. This is also due to economic and political world events, supply and demand, etc. But palladium is not looked at as a safe-haven asset the way that gold is. To give you an idea of swings in the market; when I started my business palladium was half the price of platinum, in 2020 they traded places, today they are neck and neck.
immeasurable
The precious metal market always has a level of inherent risk and volatility, meaning that you don’t know if it will be higher or lower the next day, week, or month. It might help to know that many of my past couples have shared that the metal purchase is more than a financial investment. It will become more precious than the material itself. It will become your wedding rings that you will wear as a reminder of your commitment for the rest of your lives. Add in the value of making them with your own hands, definitely worth more than their weight in gold (pun intended).
Thank you for your support in my small business. -Stephanie Selle
Price chart for palladium at the time of writing this blog post. (click for full screen)