Shoppers prefer diamond to gold

Investors in the gold industry say that although the market movement is calm, the demand for gold jewelries is low because of the economic situation, a local newspaper reported.
Abdulatif Al-Naser, a gold dealer, said the low demand had prompted some shop owners to sell other jewelries, such as diamond, as the high price of gold made prices of the two kinds comparable.
The price of a set of gold reaches SR 25,000, while the price of a diamond one is SR 30,000. As a result, demand for diamond is increasing.
However, it is a well-known fact that diamond loses about 100 percent of its value as soon as it is sold, unlike gold.
According to Al-Naser, diamond shops make high profits of 100 percent, while profits of gold shops do not exceed 25 percent.
Another gold dealer, Ali Al-Dajani, said the purchase movement is very modest, but there are high hopes that weddings in the coming months will move the market up.
He added that the price of the yellow metal had decreased in the last few days, but this didn’t affect local demand. He said the price of one gram of gold jewelry is between SR 178 and SR 250.
Gold prices recorded their lowest level in a month, down from $ 1,700 per ounce on Wednesday, due to sale transactions by some mutual funds.