I recently had a chance to catch up with Zaven Ghanimian, CEO of Simon G. (who is known to many of us as “Zee”), and having covered the company’s splashy new men’s collection earlier this summer, I wanted to talk about one thing: the price of gold.
Because the trend seems to be toward silver and, to a certain extent, platinum.
According to Ghanimian, “We have found that consumers are still purchasing [gold jewelry] and purchasing rather large pieces, so we have not scaled back size on account of the gold pricing.
“We have introduced more petite styles based on consumer demand and current trends.”
And unlike some makers, who have been forced to raise the prices of their gold pieces or take a loss, Ghanimian says Simon G. has not adjusted the pricing structure of its core line (this should come as very good news for its wholesale accounts).
Some more takeaways from our conversation, below.
For retailers:
“Don’t buy more gold than you need. Take it one day at a time.”
Regarding shifts in the price of gold:
“No one has been able to predict the price of gold. A good rule of thumb is that when the stock market goes up, gold comes down. When the stock market goes down, the gold price goes up. The theory is that investors shift money back and forth between the two to drive up earnings and feel safe.”
And finally, for consumers or inexperienced designers who are melting gold for cash:
“If you’re looking to sell your gold, know and understand what type of gold you have [i.e., 14k, 18k, 21k] and calculate the price of the gold you have. Gold prices are given in pure 24k form. If the gold price is $1,900, and you have 1 ounce of 18k, its only worth 75% of $1,900. Beware of ‘We Buy Gold’ [storefronts].”
Top: Flower pendant with 0.31 cts. t.w. diamonds in 18k white and yellow gold, $2,156
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