The gold rush is becoming a problem.
The jewelry and watch categories are feeling pressure because global economic and political turbulence has pushed the price of the precious metal about 13 percent higher in the last six months as financial investors seek a safe haven from seesawing currencies. The precious metal is selling for more than $1,200 an ounce — peaking just shy of $1,250 last month — compared with an average of $928.64 in May 2009 and $421.87 in May 2005.
The price trajectory appears unlikely to swing in the other direction anytime soon because of the debt crisis in Europe and other destabilizing factors, although gold hasn’t reached the highs of the early Eighties, which, adjusted for inflation, are equivalent to as much as $2,100 today.
*Designers and companies featured in this article include:
GFMS
Bedat & Co. watches
Amrita Singh
TenThousandThings
Elizabeth Locke
Hublot
Charm and Chain
Roarke
Dori Csengeri
Lizzie Fortunato jewels
H.Stern
Temple St. Clair
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