Sifting through a cardboard box of assorted bracelets, watches, mementos and dust-covered ring boxes, longtime Plainview jeweler Marc Solomon picks up one piece at a time, examining each carefully with his golden jeweler’s glass.
After inspecting a small, antique women’s watch, Solomon said, “the only gold on here is the casing of the watch. So, if you sold it, that would be the only value.”
The inspection was part of an estate appraisal Solomon, owner of his namesake company, Solomons Jewelers, performed early Wednesday afternoon for Jerry Lane, 55, and his father, Dan Lane, 85, both of Plainview.
Neither Jerry Lane nor his father, the executor of his late sister’s estate, was aware that the price of gold has been rising to record heights in recent months.
“I didn’t have a clue,” said Dan Lane, whose box of odds and ends contained jewelry from his sister, mother and grandmother.
“I don’t follow that market,” he said when asked if he expected to get a high price for the items.
Gold prices have been surging for months, hitting $2,955 per ounce by 5 p.m. Thursday, largely because of macro geopolitical forces, according to industry experts. Factors like the ongoing war in Ukraine, inflation, the U.S. trade war with China, and President Donald Trump’s use of threatened tariffs all play a part in gold’s pricing as the commodity is seen as a safe hedge against unpredictable market forces, industry analysts said.
Some Long Island pawnbrokers, gold buyers and jewelry store owners told Newsday the rising price of gold has led to higher cash prices for consumers, higher loan rates for those borrowing against the precious metal, and an uptick in customers wanting their pieces appraised.
While local merchants said gold prices have seen steady growth since the pandemic, its value has accelerated since last year.
“We’ve seen an uptick in people selling their own gold because it’s been at an all-time historic high,” said David Gordon, owner of Whitman Coin & Jewelry Inc., a seller of jewelry and a collateral loan broker in Melville.
“Gold just took off like a rocket ship in the last few months,” said Gordon, whose family has been in the business for 50 years. “We’re all along for the ride.”
Typically, disruptions in trade and geopolitics draw investors to gold as a hedge against instability or inflation, according to Bloomberg News.
Central banks, most notably China’s, have been increasing their gold reserves, supporting gold’s 12% gain this year, according to Bloomberg News.
“I don’t know anyone who is not bullish on gold,” said Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist of Bloomberg Intelligence.
McGlone said increases on the price of gold stem back to early 2022, when China and Russia announced their intentions to back each other over international standoffs concerning Ukraine and Taiwan.
“Since that day gold is up about 60% to 65%,” McGlone said.
Trump’s potential reciprocal tariffs, too, have increased uncertainty around trade, contributing to golds price hikes, McGlone said.
Paul Villa, whose family owns Johanna’s Jewelry in Westbury, a shop that buys and sells jewelry, said the price increases have been dramatic.
Because customers are more savvy, Villa said it’s common to see them go from gold buyer to gold buyer to get the highest price for their item, or for clients to be more shrewd in negotiations.
“So there’s a bit of a bidding war going on,” he said.
Villa said the higher prices also mean negotiations with potential buyers start at a higher price point.
“That’s a challenge as well because we have to raise prices so we can make some profit,” he said.
A few years ago, Villa said, the sale price of 14-karat gold would have started around $75 per gram, with some wiggle room to negotiate with buyers. Today, his starting price is around $90 per gram, and $80 is the lowest he’ll go.
For pawnbrokers, increased gold values mean larger loan portfolios, said David Kaminsky, president of the Collateral Loanbrokers Association of New York.
“We serve people who are not looking to get rid of their gold; they only want to use the value and borrow against it,” said Kaminsky, owner of EZ Pawn Corp., a chain of 16 licensed pawnshop locations.
Kaminsky said pawnbrokers are now offering higher loans on gold items.
“Everybody in the industry, their pawn portfolios have gone up,” he said.
As for the Lanes who visited Solomon’s custom-designed jewelry shop, their family’s jewelry netted the duo around $3,000 in cash, a pleasant surprise.
“It’s going right to the family,” the younger Lane said.
With Bloomberg News
Sifting through a cardboard box of assorted bracelets, watches, mementos and dust-covered ring boxes, longtime Plainview jeweler Marc Solomon picks up one piece at a time, examining each carefully with his golden jeweler’s glass.
After inspecting a small, antique women’s watch, Solomon said, “the only gold on here is the casing of the watch. So, if you sold it, that would be the only value.”
The inspection was part of an estate appraisal Solomon, owner of his namesake company, Solomons Jewelers, performed early Wednesday afternoon for Jerry Lane, 55, and his father, Dan Lane, 85, both of Plainview.
Neither Jerry Lane nor his father, the executor of his late sister’s estate, was aware that the price of gold has been rising to record heights in recent months.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Gold prices have hit record highs in recent months, topping $2,955 per ounce by 5 p.m. Thursday.
- Local jewelry shops and pawnbrokers said they have seen growing interest from customers wanting to sell their jewelry.
- Geopolitical factors, including the Ukraine-Russia war, inflation and potential tariffs, have contributed to surging gold values, experts say.
“I didn’t have a clue,” said Dan Lane, whose box of odds and ends contained jewelry from his sister, mother and grandmother.
“I don’t follow that market,” he said when asked if he expected to get a high price for the items.
David Gordon, owner of Whitman Coin & Jewelry Inc. in Melville, said, “We’ve seen an uptick in people selling their own gold because it’s been at an all-time historic high.”
Credit: Newsday/Victor Ocasio
Gold prices soaring
Gold prices have been surging for months, hitting $2,955 per ounce by 5 p.m. Thursday, largely because of macro geopolitical forces, according to industry experts. Factors like the ongoing war in Ukraine, inflation, the U.S. trade war with China, and President Donald Trump’s use of threatened tariffs all play a part in gold’s pricing as the commodity is seen as a safe hedge against unpredictable market forces, industry analysts said.
Some Long Island pawnbrokers, gold buyers and jewelry store owners told Newsday the rising price of gold has led to higher cash prices for consumers, higher loan rates for those borrowing against the precious metal, and an uptick in customers wanting their pieces appraised.
While local merchants said gold prices have seen steady growth since the pandemic, its value has accelerated since last year.
“We’ve seen an uptick in people selling their own gold because it’s been at an all-time historic high,” said David Gordon, owner of Whitman Coin & Jewelry Inc., a seller of jewelry and a collateral loan broker in Melville.
“Gold just took off like a rocket ship in the last few months,” said Gordon, whose family has been in the business for 50 years. “We’re all along for the ride.”
Sign of uncertain times
Typically, disruptions in trade and geopolitics draw investors to gold as a hedge against instability or inflation, according to Bloomberg News.
Central banks, most notably China’s, have been increasing their gold reserves, supporting gold’s 12% gain this year, according to Bloomberg News.
“I don’t know anyone who is not bullish on gold,” said Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist of Bloomberg Intelligence.
McGlone said increases on the price of gold stem back to early 2022, when China and Russia announced their intentions to back each other over international standoffs concerning Ukraine and Taiwan.
“Since that day gold is up about 60% to 65%,” McGlone said.
Trump’s potential reciprocal tariffs, too, have increased uncertainty around trade, contributing to golds price hikes, McGlone said.
Paul Villa, at Johanna’s Jewelry in Westbury, said the price increases in gold have been dramatic. Credit: Newsday/Victor Ocasio
‘Bit of a bidding war’
Paul Villa, whose family owns Johanna’s Jewelry in Westbury, a shop that buys and sells jewelry, said the price increases have been dramatic.
Because customers are more savvy, Villa said it’s common to see them go from gold buyer to gold buyer to get the highest price for their item, or for clients to be more shrewd in negotiations.
“So there’s a bit of a bidding war going on,” he said.
Villa said the higher prices also mean negotiations with potential buyers start at a higher price point.
“That’s a challenge as well because we have to raise prices so we can make some profit,” he said.
A few years ago, Villa said, the sale price of 14-karat gold would have started around $75 per gram, with some wiggle room to negotiate with buyers. Today, his starting price is around $90 per gram, and $80 is the lowest he’ll go.
For pawnbrokers, increased gold values mean larger loan portfolios, said David Kaminsky, president of the Collateral Loanbrokers Association of New York.
“We serve people who are not looking to get rid of their gold; they only want to use the value and borrow against it,” said Kaminsky, owner of EZ Pawn Corp., a chain of 16 licensed pawnshop locations.
Kaminsky said pawnbrokers are now offering higher loans on gold items.
“Everybody in the industry, their pawn portfolios have gone up,” he said.
As for the Lanes who visited Solomon’s custom-designed jewelry shop, their family’s jewelry netted the duo around $3,000 in cash, a pleasant surprise.
“It’s going right to the family,” the younger Lane said.
With Bloomberg News