WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Gold prices dropped 17% in the past month, impacting local jewelers and buyers in Waco.
When gold prices climb, jewelers feel the pressure. For Robert Jimenez, owner of San Jose Jewelers with 40 years in the business, the key is staying competitive no matter what the market does.
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"When the market began to creep way up, uh, we still had to sell merchandise. We couldn't go to the levels that we wanted to, so we we priced it at a viable price," Jimenez said.
"So now we're about leveled off to where we need to be, but you can't overprice jewelry because eventually you can't sell any jewelry, so we had to be very competitive in in in making our prices," Jimenez said.
Jimenez told me even with gold fluctuating often, the cost of making jewelry has changed dramatically over the years. He makes class rings for Baylor and told me those rings now cost about $200 to $300 more than when they first started making them.
"More people are buying, but we've shifted from 14 karat to 10 karat. So different percentage of gold, uh, so it's become a, it's a little more affordable than 14 karat," Jimenez said.
In Waco, for some shoppers, this moment feels more like an opportunity than a warning sign.
"So it's actually made me excited about maybe purchasing some more gold. I've kept my investment in gold and I've actually decided to keep it a little bit longer term. I'm gonna go for the 2 or 3 year mark, I think, because I think it's gonna come back up," Melissa Pardon said.
Analysts say gold could continue to swing in the near future as investors keep watching. It is all about what happens next globally and how that could move the market again.
"Politics is determining how the market's reacting right now, so that's the issue is, are we gonna go to war or what politically is gonna occur to affect it. But, uh, you know, like I said, that's a million dollar question. We'd be rich if we knew that answer," Jimenez said.
In Central Texas, jewelers told me one thing is already clear: customers are still shopping, they are just shopping smarter.
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