Our fascination with gold is about as old as the history of mankind. We are inherently captivated by the metal; just ask any infant who instinctively grabs their mother’s gold earrings or necklace. Gold flakes have been found in Paleolithic caves dated from 40,000 B.C., and the metal played an important role in ancient Egypt. Later, gold became synonymous with money and, in 1792, it was still being traded as legal tender in the U.S. Cut to modern times—well, 1971, specifically—when President Richard Nixon ended the Bretton Woods system, which allowed gold to be freely traded. Since then, the price of gold has gone up and down more times than a rollercoaster. However, gold will always be thought of as a good investment, and that will remain a constant.
Yellow gold had been trailing white gold for years but has started to gain popularity in fashion-forward regions of the country such as New York and Los Angeles. Today, a surge in sales of the metal in all regions in both the United States and Canada signifies that the hold white gold had on the industry for years has finally been upended. What’s more, yellow gold is showing no signs of slowing down, even though the price per ounce is creeping up.
The price of gold currently has been fluctuating between $1,500 and $1,600 an ounce. At press time, it’s $1,552 an ounce. The rise can be attributed to tensions between the U.S. and Iran and the coronavirus, as investors fled so-called risk assets. However, the demand for gold continues to shine. According to the World Gold Council, gold had its best performance in 2019, rising by 18.4% in U.S. dollars. Gold prices reached record highs in almost all major world currencies last year, except the U.S. dollar and Swiss franc. The investment community is one thing. Consumer demand is quite another. In the U.S., the world’s third largest gold jewelry market, the demand rose for the 12th consecutive quarter, said the WGC. That’s a 2% increase to 49.2 tonnes. The demand is largely due to strong consumer confidence and a robust economic environment.
Phillip Gabriel Maroof, vice president of the 42-year-old Royal Chain Group, credits yellow gold’s appeal to its versatility. “Yellow gold is [retailers’] bread and butter,” he says. Gold is not boxed into one or two categories either, Maroof explains. “You can offer the metal in every single category such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and with so much variety in design—something that’s harder to do in the traditional diamond category given its significantly higher price,” he says. “With current technology allowing us to produce gold more efficiently, we can now offer gold at better price points.” Gold’s status as a versatile product in the marketplace is a certain advantage for retailers.
Royal Chain Group is meeting their customers’ growing demand for gold by offering new, exciting trend items, updated chain links, vintage-inspired finds, and more. Browse the slideshow gallery to get inspired and stock up on its available inventory of more than 10,000 SKUs. Retailers with approved online accounts can order through royalchain.com or call 800-622-0960. New customers interesting in opening an account can email sales@royalchain.com.
