At the end of August 2010, MarketWatch.com reported that the demand for gold has significantly increased since 2009 (and though not explicitly stated in the article, over the last several years as well).

The article provides interesting insight into the gold market economy.

MarketWatch has reported that since the same quarter in 2009, the demand for gold has risen 36%. They suspect that this “surge” in demand is due to investors “making the switch from buying gold only in times of crisis to having gold as part of a diversified portfolio.”

Gold is now being seen as much more of an asset now because of its “proven ability to not only hold value in times of crisis but increase.” The call for gold in this economy has opened the eyes of many investors. It’s impossible to ignore it with all of the “Sell Us Your Gold” shops popping up everywhere. Having a stockpile of gold is definitely going to be beneficial. The only gamble you have to take with gold is when you should sell it.

The chart below from www.goldprice.org tracks the change in the price of gold over the last 15 years. There is a clear increase in demand.

Though the demand and price of gold has increased, there are still even smaller distinctions to be made. The market changes on a daily and even hourly basis. Another goldprice.org chart shows the fluctuation in the price of gold over the last 30 days below.

As you can see, the day you choose to sell gold is key. If you sold your gold at the peak on August 20^th, you would have made significantly less money per ounce of gold than if you had sold September 7^th. Every other industry is the same in the stock market: it’s just a risk that you have to take.

If you’re interested in the changing demand and hypothesized gold forecasts, this article and website might be interesting to you. Worth a read!

The market is currently flooded with businesses that want to buy your gold at “top dollar.”

Before you sell all of your unwanted gold, make sure you know how to approach the situation. The first thing you need to do is figure out how much your gold jewelry, gold watches, and gold scraps are worth.

A recent article on BankRate.com discusses how you can tell what your gold may be worth, whether you’re trying to sell jewelry, gold coins, or even old dental scraps of gold. Read the article here.

The article will take you through the basic process of selling gold, from what the jeweler may do with the gold to how you can take steps to value your gold first before you sell it at an uninformed price.

Important things to remember when valuing and selling your gold:

1. “The less gold content in a piece of jewelry, the less money it will be worth to anyone who intends to melt it down.” This means that you need to set your value expectations at a reasonable level. Though you may have paid several hundred dollars at a retail store, a second hand store or estate jewelry buyer will probably only pay you what the piece is worth in metal and gemstone value.
2. “Most buyers of gold won’t pay anything for stones, with the exception of diamonds. So if you want them, remove them yourself or have them removed before you turn a piece of gold jewelry over to a buyer.” More often than not, the jewelry buyer is most interested in the gold value. While some buyers do offer money for the diamonds (as we often do at Estate Watch & Jewelry Co.), some will be more than happy to remove the gemstones for you if they have more sentimental value to you than market value.
3. “[The current price of gold] fluctuates constantly, so what you see [quoted in the stock market] is unlikely to be what you’ll be paid for your gold, but it will give you a ballpark figure.” Remember that the jeweler is in business to make a little money off of the deal as well, so you may not be offered 100% percent of the gold value. If you know how much your gold weighs and where the market is that day that sell it, you should have a pretty good idea of what a reasonable offer should be (somewhere between 10-30% less than market value).

If you come armed with knowledge of what your gold is worth before you sell it, you will be in a much better position to make informed decisions about your transaction (and you might even be in a better position to negotiate getting more for your gold!)

Do you have old, broken or otherwise unwanted jewelry and timepieces? You’ve found the right place.

Here at The Estate Watch & Jewelry Co., we are proud to offer you top dollar for your unwanted jewelry and watches. We have an unsurpassed reputation for offering the highest prices in the gold-buying industry.

Gold is at an all time high this year, and it continues to rise. The time to sell your gold is now!

Our on-site buyers in our shop in Scottsdale, Arizona will be happy to both inform you about how the gold selling process works as well as offer you the fairest price you’ll find.

We have been in the business for over 20 years, so you know you can trust our inside industry knowledge.

June 2010 Gold Prices (from www.goldprice.org)