People out there emptying old jewelry boxes, turning gold into cash
The Birmingham News – al.com, AL
In the new gold rush, 24-karat bling goes for about $920 an ounce
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
ROY L. WILLIAMS
News staff writer
Levy’s Fine Jewelry downtown and others in the business around the Birmingham area are seeing a gold rush – folks wanting to trade in unwanted rings and necklaces with gold prices near the $1,000-an-ounce mark.
“It’s like the gold rush of the 1800s,” said Jared Nadler, a graduate gemologist and son of Levy’s owner Rhoda Link.
Levy’s, in business since 1922, has seen a steady increase of customers responding to advertisements and coming in to sell old gold chains and other pieces of jewelry over the past few months as gold prices have staged a massive rally.
“I’m seeing people lining up every day,” Nadler said. “People are literally rummaging through old jewelry boxes and bringing it in. We have three or four buyers and they are always busy.”
For some sellers, the needs of the moment are trumping nostalgia, as old gold jewelry is sold to pay for necessities or finance purchases such as trips and even plastic surgery, jewelers say.
At Levy’s, business reached a fever pitch last month when gold prices briefly crossed the $1,000-an-ounce threshold, Nadler said. Though gold futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange have since slipped to the neighborhood of $920 an ounce, demand has remained high, he said.
Bob Allsbrook, chief economist of Regions Bank in Birmingham, said gold prices have been influenced by factors such as inflation concerns, speculation and political instability in many parts of the world.
Like Levy’s, Mike’s Fine Jewelry at 2324 First Ave. North in downtown Birmingham has seen a similar surge in customers selling gold, owner Mike Cohen said.
“It’s bringing out a lot of jewelry that people no longer want or had broken and stuffed in drawers,” said Cohen, adding he hasn’t seen such a rush to sell gold in 42 years of business downtown.
So who is among those rushing to sell?
At Levy’s, it varies among the well-to-do and lower-income, all enticed by the lure of big payoffs on unwanted jewelry, said Nadler.
“We don’t always know why people sell their gold, but over the last three weeks, we saw a customer use the money on a house, a young lady who was using it for plastic surgery and another couple selling gold to finance an exotic honeymoon,” Nadler said.
At Mike’s Fine Jewelry, the majority of gold sellers have been people needing extra cash to cope with high gasoline and food prices, Cohen said.
“With oil prices going up and unemployment on the rise, people are looking for something to help them get enough money to make ends meet,” he said.
If you do plan to sell gold, come in with realistic expectations, Cohen and Nadler said. Commodity prices – the ones getting the headlines – are based on pure gold, which is 24-karat. Most gold in jewelry is 10-karat or 14-karat.
“Some people come in with the mistaken belief they’ll get $1,000 an ounce,” Cohen said.
The price a person receives for their gold varies depending on several factors, including the commodity price, Nadler said. Expenses that have to be factored in are the costs of insurance, and shipping the gold to a vendor who melts it, Nadler said.
“The beauty of gold is that you can refine it, get cash for it or resell it,” Nadler said. “We have a clientele looking for unusual fine pieces, so we pay top dollar.”
E-mail: rwilliams@bhamnews.com
