Gold Hits $4,400/Oz: Jewelers Cry, Customers Switch to Platinum
Isaac Yuan and Joanne Sim of Eli J Fine Jewelry, stuck in Singapore, are living gold fever dreams while simultaneously bleeding wallet wounds. Gold skyrocketed from a modest $400 an ounce two decades ago to a Vegas-worthy $4,400 in October 2024 — a 50% surge this year alone. Their 18-karat treasures jumped 'a few hundred dollars' per piece, slicing profits by 10%, turning design dreams into a game of 'how thin can we make this band?' Meanwhile, Kim Poh Hong, a 3rd-gen Singaporean goldsmith, sees customers ghosting their chunky 22-karat machine-made gold for more affordable bling, with a 30-40% sales plunge. Even India's Diwali, that gold-buying juggernaut, hummed ‘meh’ with 31% volume drop but Titan still cashed in thanks to marketers convincing shoppers to splurge more per piece. Pandora, Denmark’s gold-and-silver titan, flirts with stainless steel like a gold-dusted Tinder date—‘but will this kill the vibe?’ wonders CEO Alexander Lacik. All eyes on year-end bonuses and if maybe, just maybe, gold's final price plunge will save the holiday sparkle.
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Gold jumped from $400 to $4,400/oz faster than a TikTok trend, leaving jewelers rethinking jewelry designs like they’re noodle brands on a budget and customers reviewing platinum like it’s the new iPhone release. Because apparently, owning gold now requires a bailout plan.
With gold prices hitting nearly $4,400 an ounce, jewelers are basically turning gold rings into golden slivers. I mean, when your profit margin drops 10% but you still gotta convince customers it’s "forever," welcome to the Great Gold Squeeze 2024.
Singapore jewelers absorbing gold price shocks like a Sumatra tsunami—customers downgraded to 14-karat like ’14-karat or bust’ is now a life philosophy. Meanwhile, Platinum is the new gold, which honestly sounds like a midlife crisis metal swap.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 11/3/2025 | Author: Huileng Tan
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