Economic Unease Pushes Gold and Platinum To Equal Value

Remember when Eartha Kitt asked Santa Baby for the deed to a platinum mine? This Christmas, you may want to revert your wishlist back to the gold standard if current trading conditions continue through to December.

Today, the price of gold reached parity with platinum, pushing the value of the fine jewelry metal to a level not seen since 2008. It hit a record high of $1715.29 per troy ounce following the downgrade of the US government’s credit rating by Standard & Poor’s as investors looked for a safe haven alternative to more volatile stocks. Platinum, which hit a low of $1703 per ounce, doesn’t get the same boost as gold because it’s largely seen as an industry product while gold is also seen as something of a monetary instrument. {Wall Street Journal}

These platinum and gold rings from Tiffany are different prices, but have the same value. For now.

What this will mean for fine jewelry prices isn’t immediately clear, but on most jewelers’ sites, platinum is still at a premium compared to gold. At Tiffany & Co., a platinum ring with a small yellow diamond is $1300, while a similar yellow gold ring with a similarly sized yellow diamond is $750.

Obviously at some point, the price disparity is going to catch up to jewelry stores who will have to pass the sharp rise in raw material prices along to consumers. The Los Angeles Times reports that LA jewelry stores are already doing most of their business on the buying side, as the rising prices are driving buyers to wait longer before purchasing, purchase thinner wedding bands, or go for an entirely different metal – like silver – altogether.





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