As price of gold surges, sellers are looking to cash in

Surging gold prices are tempting more and more Montrealers to cash in on old Jewelry.

“A person who sells a ring for $700 or a bracelet for $2,000, they can’t believe where it’s going,” said Eddy Rogo, owner of Empire Gold, a buyer and seller of gold.

A single seller came to his store Tuesday with what he thought was about $10,000 worth of gold. Rogo paid more than $57,000.

“Anybody who is selling gold today is surprised and thrilled with the price of gold today,” he said.

One ounce troy of gold was selling for $5,785 at the market close on Tuesday. That’s up 60 per cent from $3,762, one year ago.

“It’s making simple gold jewelry significantly more expensive,” said Eric Goldberg, owner of Atelier Lou Bijouterie, in Westmount.

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Pointing to a 14-karat gold chain bracelet in his display cabinet, he explained the price had increased from $4,000 last year to $5,000 today. Simple gold jewelry, he said, is fast becoming completely unaffordable, and his customers are opting for lower karat gold or silver.

At Empire Gold, most of what Rogo buys is immediately sold to big institutions like the mint but there are still plenty of individual buyers looking to invest, he said.

“I think they’re running away from currencies,” he said. “I think they’re afraid. Gold is a safe haven and people are just running to it.”

That rush to get into gold, however, has created an opening for opportunistic scammers. Most days, people come into Empire Gold, either knowingly or unknowingly, with fake gold to sell.

“(These are) virtually the same thing.” Rogo said, holding in one hand a one-ounce gold coin and in the other hand a fake replica someone recently tried to cash in. One is worth close to $6,000. The other is not even worth $6, he explained.

READ MORE: Gold is surging as Canada, a leading producer, has none. Is it time to buy?

“This is the kind of thing that people get scamed, so anybody buying gold has to be very, very careful,” Rogo said.

At Atelier Lou, Goldberg insists gold jewelry should not be thought of as an investment.

“Nobody cares about what went into making (the jewelry),” he said, “The time, the effort, the raw materials, nobody cares about that. They’re thinking about the metal, so it’s always worth less when they go to sell it.”

It’s the gold people want, he said, and for now, it’s unclear when or if this craze is going to end.