Lately, everyone around me wants to buy gold, so let’s talk about everyone’s favorite precious metal.
Coincidentally, my colleague C has been pressured by her boyfriend to get married for over a year. She’s been eyeing gold jewelry for some time and, seeing prices climb, keeps asking: “When will gold get cheaper? When should I buy? Where should I buy?”
Every time I tell her: buy sooner rather than later. Since she’s only buying a small personal piece, it boils down to four steps:Choose the right timing (earlier is better);Compare gold prices across markets;Compare exchange rates;Pick designs with good resale/value retention.
I compared spot gold prices and jewelry retail prices in Shanghai, New York, Europe, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, converted to per‐gram costs, and found:
•Tokyo is cheapest at about¥16,885perg (≈US$116/g).
•Hong Kong next at HK$981.6perg (≈US$125.7/g).
•Europe at about€118.3perg (≈US$130/g).
•Shanghai at ¥1,005perg (≈US$140/g).
•New York is highest at aboutUS$145perg (due to larger markups).
Conclusion: In the past month, Japan offers the best value for gold jewelry. Why is Japan the cheapest? Three reasons:Lowest premium (only about 11%);Favorable exchange rate (yen/dollar has been relatively stable);Strong market competition (many brands, pricing closer to spot).
So, when and where will C finally make her purchase? Let’s wait and see!
