We at 7879 understand jewellery as more than just an accessory or heirloom, and we invite you to do the same.
This is an invitation to put aside how you think jewellery works; what it should look like, how it should be made, and most importantly, how it should be valued.
The 7879 concept is about gold and platinum investment through jewellery. It’s also about the opportunity to grow your wealth with the help of transparent pricing and 24-karat purity.
It’s a concept that turns away from the shady model of jewellery trading, which can see you pay more than you should for diluted metals. It’s, above all, a concept that borrows the benefits of buying gold and platinum as an investment and pairs them with the utility and glamour of owning jewellery.
Here we help you better understand this concept, including how you can begin investing yourself.
Gold and platinum investment through jewellery
Even if you’ve never quite got your head around how stock markets work, you may have heard that smart investors tend to turn to methods such as gold or platinum investment in times of economic stress.
There’s a good reason for this.
The value of the British pound has fallen by 85% over the last 50 years, while the value of gold has increased by 1,800%.
On top of that, platinum and gold values tend to go up as other stocks and markets are going down. So over time, they tend to be a reliable investment.
So, is gold jewellery a good investment?
We at 7879 make our jewellery out of pure, 24 karat gold and platinum so that it’s possible to invest in the metal in the same way you might invest in gold bullion or stocks.
Our prices are based on the weight of the jewellery, and are also tied to the live gold price per gram.
Gold vs platinum: price and liquidity
Although similar in nature, there are a few minor differences when it comes to platinum vs gold investment. In general and over the long term, gold and platinum tend to follow each other in terms of value. There are, however, factors which affect each of them independently, which can sometimes result in their individual values varying from one another.
When understanding the price of platinum vs gold, it’s essential to appreciate that the value of platinum depends on supply and demand. In contrast, the value of gold relies more heavily on investor sentiments.
The safe-haven status of gold is what pushes its price up throughout periods of economic uncertainty, whereas platinum prices may fall due to a decline in demand. The reverse can be observed during times of sustained economic growth.
The price differential between these two precious metals is known as an inter-commodity spread. This means that sometimes the gold trades at a premium to platinum, whereas other times it will be platinum commanding the premium.
This gold-to-platinum ratio not only helps us understand the relationship between these two metals but also serves as a clue to the current market sentiment. An example of this could be that platinum is cheaper than gold if the ratio is above 1, and vice-versa.
Both gold and platinum are considered to be liquid assets, which means they are able to be converted into cash quickly, easily, and at any time. They are also completely translatable assets, meaning you will be able to trade them in both over-the-counter and physical markets the world over.
Buying gold or platinum with 7879
When you buy 7879 jewellery, you’re making an investment in the truest sense.
While other jewellers inflate their prices by up to 1,000% of the true value of the metal in their jewellery, we at 7879 stick to the current market price plus a modest and transparent fabrication fee.
Because you’re paying a fair market price, when the price of gold or platinum goes up, you can sell your jewellery for a profit, based on the value of the metal at the time.
With this in mind, your jewellery appreciates as you wear it. It is a liquid asset you can turn into cash at any time.
Here’s how it works:
- We make our designer jewellery from pure 24 karat gold or platinum
- You browse our website and find a piece that you love
- You pay for the metal in the piece based on its weight and the live market price of gold or platinum, as well as a 30% fabrication fee
- We create a personalised portfolio for you, where you can easily track the value of your jewellery over time
- When you consider that the price is right, you can choose to sell your jewellery back to us, or opt to trade up for another 7879 piece
Through this method, you can take control of your wealth while also enjoying your jewellery every day. You can choose to wear an investment, not an heirloom.
Why purity matters when buying gold and platinum
Gold has a famous and long-standing reputation for holding its value, and is therefore unsurprisingly regarded as a reliable investment. However, gold is only half of what we at 7879 deal in, posing the question: is platinum a good investment? To answer this question, we’ll start with how precious metal purity generally works.
The purity of gold is measured in karats. The purest gold is 24 karat, which means it’s 100% pure. The purity of platinum, on the other hand, is measured in parts per thousand. Pure platinum is 1,000 of 1,000 parts.
To put this into perspective, high-street jewellers tend to make their gold jewellery out of gold that’s around 14 karat, which means only 58% of the metal in the piece is gold. This leaves the remaining 42% comprised of other metals such as copper, silver, or other alloys.
Your average piece of platinum jewellery is likely to be slightly purer, but a representative piece might contain 850 parts per 1,000, or only 85% pure platinum.
While this succeeds in making the jewellery more dent and scratch-resistant, it also reduces the value of the metal. Other high-end brands aren’t much better, usually using 18-karat gold of only 75% purity.
How does this make business sense? Well, usually, you’re not paying the real price of the gold or platinum in the jewellery, but instead paying for the brand name attached to it. These companies use marketing hype and brand prestige to justify markups of up to 1,000% over the real value of your jewellery.
Since we only use pure metals at 7879, we’re able to use the current market price of both gold and platinum to offer fair, transparent, and up-to-date prices. With this in mind, either gold or platinum make great investments as liquid assets.
Gold bullion or stocks vs gold jewellery
Let’s say that you decide that gold jewellery is a good investment. That still doesn’t tell you how to go about investing. In fact, gold investment can come in a few different forms.
The one that might come most readily to mind is the old-fashioned idea of buying gold bullion (i.e. gold bars) and keeping it stashed away somewhere safe. There’s nothing wrong with this method, other than the fact that you own something you can never really use or enjoy. It’s just locked away, gathering dust.
Then there’s the option to buy gold stocks. This way, you can still benefit from the rise and fall of the precious metals market, without actually having to handle the gold. This obviously has the drawback of you not actually owning any physical gold. It could also present the problem of you having your money tied up in the investment when you need access to cash.
We at 7879 think that jewellery is the best way to invest in gold and platinum for most people. It’s still tangible and liquid like gold bullion, yet it’s something for the owner to put on rather than to put away.
Our philosophy is that enjoying your wealth as it grows is more important than having metal bars stored in a safe or seeing numbers reflecting your assets on a screen.
Fair and sustainable gold investment
If pure metals and transparent pricing are two of the main pillars of our brand, the third is our commitment to fairness and sustainability within our supply chain. This begins with how our gold and platinum are sourced and continues through to how each employee is paid along each step of the way.
The gold and platinum in 7879 jewellery are sourced in partnership with MetCon, a South African company that focuses on social, economic, and environmental responsibility.
Making use of recycled gold has less than 1% of the environmental impact of mining new gold from the Earth, which is why it’s our preferred approach to sourcing materials for our jewellery. Our responsible supply chain also ensures that all those involved in the process are paid a fair share for their involvement in the process.
This peace of mind means you can wear your jewellery proudly and with a clean conscience, free from the ethical questions sometimes associated with the jewellery industry.
If you’re keen to know more about our 24k promise, our pricing, or our commitment to sustainability, feel free to take a look at our FAQs.
