Gold’s Wild Ride: Two-Thirds of Jewelers Predict Prices Will Stay Sky-High

NEARLY 65% OF JEWELERS expect gold to remain between $4,000-$5,000 per ounce through 2026, with 11% predicting it will soar above $5,000, while only 14% foresee any significant price relief. The results are from an INSTORE “Brain Squad” survey for November 2025, which generated responses from 100 US and Canadian jewelers. The survey was open over the first two weeks of November.

According to the survey, independent jewelers have made peace with the new normal of record-high gold prices, with nearly two-thirds predicting the precious metal will remain at or near current levels through the end of 2026.

Stopped Trying to Predict

The findings suggest jewelers are bracing for a sustained period of elevated costs, even as some hold out hope for relief. Of the 99 jewelers who responded to the gold price question, 64% expect gold to stay in the $4,000-$5,000 per ounce range where it currently hovers, while 11% believe it will climb above $5,000. Only 12% predict a drop to the $3,000-$4,000 range, and a mere 2% foresee a significant drop below $3,000.

Perhaps most telling: 10% of jewelers admitted they’ve stopped trying to predict gold prices altogether.

“I flipped a coin!” one jeweler confessed when asked to justify their prediction.

The reasons behind jewelers’ expectations reflect deep concerns about global instability and economic policy. “Countries have lost faith in the US dollar and are seeking a safe haven,” one respondent wrote. Another cited “the unrest in the world” as encouraging investors to seek gold as protection.

Several jewelers pointed to currency devaluation as a key driver. “Our government will continue to print money so the dollar will continue to be devalued worldwide, so gold will continue to increase,” one jeweler predicted. Another put it more bluntly: “Dollar is going down, gold is not.”

The political and economic uncertainty of recent months has left many jewelers feeling helpless. “No one including anyone in Washington DC really know what all the consequences will be of current fiscal policies, needless to say how those policies may be changed over the next year,” one respondent wrote. “Wild times.”

For some veteran jewelers, the current gold market represents an existential crisis. A 66-year-old jeweler who has been making wirewrapped jewelry since 1984 expressed raw emotion: “The gold market was plus-or-minus $400 for about 20 years. I would never have believed it would have gotten to $1,000, let alone the 10x price we’re seeing now. I’m sad, discouraged, scared. I’ve been doing this for over 40 years and I’m not qualified to do anything else. Honestly, I can’t imagine what the market may or may not do, and most of the time I don’t even want to think about it.”

Feeling the Disconnect

Others take a more philosophical view. “We have a vendor who used to blather on and on about gold prices hitting $3,000 one day,” one jeweler recalled. “When this idiot’s predictions can come true, we do not live in a rational world.”

A small-town jeweler captured the consumer disconnect: “We are a mom and pop in a small town and gold has gone so high that many folks are not looking. Had a grandpa in last week who wanted a gold chain for his granddaughter’s 16th. He was unaware of what a simple gold chain would cost now.”

Still, a handful of jewelers believe the current trajectory is unsustainable. “The present price is unsustainable and something will have to give,” one wrote. Another added hopefully: “What goes up must come down.”

But the overwhelming sentiment suggests jewelers are preparing for gold to remain expensive well into 2026, fundamentally reshaping how they buy, price, and sell one of the industry’s most essential materials.

Despite the anxiety, jewelers are finding ways to adapt. When asked for advice on selling gold right now, responses ranged from strategic to philosophical—and occasionally desperate.

One jeweler offered perhaps the most honest assessment: “At first, we were surprised at how few of our customers realized gold prices had shot up. They seem flummoxed about why we couldn’t offer discounts off our suddenly higher prices. After enough media coverage, most people seem to have received the message. Our smarter customers are selling their crappy gold jewelry and having existing pieces redesigned. Our sillier customers are buying lightweight gold jewelry ‘as an investment.’ Our scarier customers are asking for custom pieces in silver, instead of gold, which really isn’t our wheelhouse: the same amount of labor at a much lower margin. Our advice to other jewelers? This is new territory for everyone, so nobody is really in a position to give advice, other than, ‘have a martini.'”

Success Story

But not everyone is struggling. One jeweler shared a counterintuitive success story that challenges conventional wisdom about high gold prices hurting sales: “Being in the industry, we panic at the increase in the gold price and the effect it is having on our buying. The consumer isn’t aware of how much more a chain today costs compared to last year. They just need a gift. Present it with your normal mark and don’t sweat it. We tend to worry about things beyond our control. Jewelry isn’t like milk and bread — items people buy regularly and can see the increase. It’s all in the presentation. If you are apologizing for your high prices, you’ll never make the sale. In October our 14K sales were up 422% and our 18K sales were up even more!”

Others have adopted a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach to the gold market. “We do not talk about the price of gold with our customers,” one jeweler wrote. “Most of them do not know what the price of gold is—they just know they need a present and she wants gold!”

For veteran jewelers, this isn’t their first gold crisis. “Anyone in business for a long time has already gone through this before,” one respondent noted. “It is just a different year/name. Keep your head high, serve the customer like you always do. We will get through this one step at a time. Focus on the good and eat more chocolate.”

Whether that adaptation looks like selling more silver, lowering margins, raising prices without apology, or simply pouring that martini — jewelers have stopped waiting for normal to return. Because for better or worse, this is normal now.