Gold for Keeps, Gold for Colour

More of you have been asking for gold this year. Then I tell you what it costs, and we both go quiet for a moment.

So let's talk about it properly. What gold is doing, what the different kinds of gold actually are, and whether you should be buying it for the colour or the future.

What the market has done

These figures are as at the end of September 2026, in NZ dollars per ounce.

Gold is up about 21% on this time last year. It's also down about 9% on six months ago. It hit a record of nearly $9,000 an ounce in early March, then dropped back to around $7,400.

Silver has had an even wilder ride. It's up about 35% on a year ago, but it peaked at over $190 an ounce in late January and now sits around $109.

If that sounds like a roller coaster, it is. Investors enjoy that sort of thing. Jewellers tend to watch it through their fingers. It's why my gold pieces are quoted at the day's rate rather than given a fixed price.

The four kinds of gold

On the first day you wear them, all four look gold. The difference shows up over the years.

Solid gold. Gold all the way through, alloyed with other metals for strength. The carat tells you how much is pure gold: 9ct is 37.5%, 14ct is 58.5%, 18ct is 75%. Look for a stamp like 375, 585 or 750. It can be resized, repaired, remodelled and passed on. This is what I use for rings and bangles.

Gold filled. A thick layer of gold bonded to a base metal core, usually brass. By the recognised standard the gold makes up at least a twentieth of the total weight, so you'll often see a stamp with 1/20 and GF. It's many times thicker than plating and wears well for years, even on parts you handle every day.

Gold vermeil. Gold plated over sterling silver. In the United States it has to be at least 2.5 microns thick. New Zealand has no legal definition, so it pays to ask. The silver base is a real plus, but the gold is still a plated layer and will wear through eventually on high-friction spots.

Gold plated. A very thin coat of gold, often a fraction of a micron, over a base metal. Lovely for a season. After that, it depends how kind you are to it.

Fashion or investment?

Here's the thing nobody mentions at the counter. When you sell gold jewellery, a buyer pays for the gold content, not the design or the hours at the bench. An 18ct ring is worth its 75% gold by weight, at that day's price. The making isn't part of the resale.

So buying jewellery purely as an investment rarely stacks up. If you want gold to grow your money, a bullion bar is the more efficient choice. It just doesn't look as good on your finger.

Buy solid gold because you love it, because it lasts, and because it can be reworked for the next generation. If it holds its value too, that's a bonus.

And if what you love is the colour, that's a perfectly good reason too. Think of it like lab-grown diamonds. Same sparkle, different reason for buying. Or silver and white gold, side by side. Most people on the street couldn't tell you which is which, and platinum would stump nearly everyone. But you'd know. Buy the one that makes you happy, and know exactly what you're wearing.

What I'm doing about it

Rings, bangles and anything that holds a piece together will stay in solid sterling silver or solid gold. That won't change.

For some pearl and gemstone strands, I'm adding gold filled clasps and spacer beads. A solid gold toggle clasp costs me around $800. Putting one on a freshwater strand makes the fastening worth more than the pearls, which is a strange way to buy a necklace.

I looked hard at vermeil too. But a clasp is the most handled part of any strand, and that's exactly where plating wears through first. Gold filled simply lasts longer there.

Every piece will be clearly labelled, so you'll always know what you're wearing. Gold for keeps, or gold for colour. Both are good choices. You just deserve to know which one you're making.

I'm a silversmith, not a financial adviser, so please treat the market bit as what's been happening rather than a tip.

Sue