Throughout the ages, the largest source of demand for gold has been jewelry. As early as five thousand years ago, the brilliance and beauty of gold conquered people. The custom of dressing up with priceless gold is enduring. Pure gold is relatively soft, and people try to add other metals to increase its hardness and enrich its color. As gold jewelry becomes more and more refined, the charm of gold is increasing day by day.

Half of the gold demand comes from jewelry

Although investment demand is increasing, even today, jewelry still accounts for half of the demand for gold. The total demand for gold in 2011 was approximately 4486 tons.

Jewelry, unlike industrial gold, is not indispensable, and it is also indispensable to personal life. Therefore, when the price of gold rises, the demand will decrease, and when the price of gold declines, the demand will rise. Jewelry will also use other precious metals such as silver and platinum, but gold is the one that takes the lead.

Demands of Gold from China and India

China and India are the world’s largest demanders of gold jewelry.

In the world, countries with greater demand for gold for jewelry include India, China, the United States, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. China and India have been fond of precious metals since ancient times. In the past, silver was mainly used, but it is still imported in large quantities. At the same time, as the economy develops and the middle-class increases, the demand for gold jewelry is on the rise.

The mainstream in the United States is K gold jewelry

Gold bars for investment must be made of pure gold, but jewelry is not so particular. Gold has soft properties, and pure gold is easily damaged, so it is melted into other metals to increase its hardness. Different metals have different colors after fusion, and sometimes they are specially processed into alloys in order to enhance the design effect. In the United States, K gold jewelry with lower gold content is the mainstream.

By the way, 24K gold is pure gold. 18K gold means that the gold content is 18/24, that is, 75% is gold and the rest is other metals. In Japan, 18K gold is mostly used in jewelry, and there are also pink gold and white gold melted into a small number of other metals. This is in sharp contrast with emerging countries where pure gold jewelry is the mainstream. For people in emerging Asian countries, gold jewelry is not just mere jewelry, but a part of the assets worn on the body.

Since design fees are included, gold ornaments are more expensive than gold. It is said that the profits of K gold jewelry in the United States and Germany are quite high.

The recovery price is calculated based on the gold content

As the price of gold rises, merchants recovering gold increase accordingly. Everyone is curious about what price gold jewelry can sell! The recovery price of gold jewelry is calculated based on the gold content, and the recovery unit price of the day is multiplied by the number of grams. Since pure gold products can be sold at a good price when they are recycled, they are naturally more expensive when they are purchased. Should I choose the value of gold itself? Or choose a stylish design? It’s really embarrassing! Shops that recycle gold are lined up, and there are also unscrupulous merchants who have drastically lowered prices. It is best to investigate the market conditions of the gold price beforehand, and then entrust it to a trustworthy precious metal company.

The content of this section is taken from part of the “New Textbook of Gold Investment” written by Mr. Yuichi Ikemizu. We have adapted some of the content on the basis of the original work.

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