As the price per ounce approaches $2,000, what type of gold jewelry should retailers invest in? JCK asks those who’ve weathered past sales seasons for tips on breaking free from the constraints of cost.In the early 1970s, when Matt Stuller was just starting to build his company, store owners told him if gold hit $100 an ounce, they would go out of business “because the customers will refuse to pay the high prices that would result,” recalls Bob Cox, chief sales and marketing officer for the Lafayette, La.–based Stuller. “This kept Matt up at night. He invested everything he had in his new business. But we can see how well those predictions worked out, as some years later, gold went to a level over $800 per ounce.”Moral of the story: Gold prices have gone up in the past, and will go up again, but that doesn’t mean people will stop buying.For one thing, higher gold prices don