Out With The Gold

When gold hit $1,500 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday, Greg French prepared himself for the influx of people wanting to sell their jewelry to him. French, whose family owns in New Canaan and Fairfield, said it’s part of a trend he’s been seeing for the last year and a half, as the price of gold has continued to escalate.

“The urgency hit once it jumped to $1,000,” French said. “That created a media buzz that got people’s attention.”

French said Henry C. Reid purchases everything from a full estate brought in by relatives of the deceased, to people who've gone through their jewelry boxes to find pieces they no longer want. The estate pieces are appraised for their potential resale value. The random pieces are bought as scrap.

“We don’t reject a lot,” French said. “I don’t care if it’s 10, 20 or 18 karat gold. If it’s gold and it’s got weight we’ll give you whatever the day’s market value. I have someone with 10 half pairs of earrings and a bracelet they got in the 80s and monstrous hoops. You weigh it all up for the karat gold it all is and cut a check.”

French said the purchase price for scrap gold is calculated daily. Henry C. Reid buys the gold to use in their workshop at the Fairfield location. They clean the old pieces, then melt them down and make gold wire that they use to create replacement parts. French said reusing the gold helps them keep repair prices down.

The price of gold hasn't brought a rush of consigners to , a consignment shop on Main St. that sells estate pieces.

"We haven't seen a change in the number of customers looking to consign jewelry," sales associate Patty Greer said.

And, while this might be a good time to sell off old jewelry, the price of gold is driving up the price of new items.

“It’s insane,” French said. “It’s hard because you have to educate your customers about why pricing has gone up. And now there are companies coming up with alternative metals. Metals you would never imagine for wedding bands.”

French said the price of silver is rising now, too, along with the price of gold. Silver closed at $122.50 on the NYM Tuesday. French said he thinks the high prices are here to stay.

“I hear some people speculate that [gold is] going to go to $2,000," he said. "I don’t think it’s coming down anytime soon. If you’re going to clean out your jewelry drawers now’s the time to do it.”