Gold is virtually indestructible so that, unless it has been lost, all the gold ever mined still exists. It is also easily recoverable from most of its uses and capable of being melted down, re-refined and reused. It follows that the supply of recycled gold, or scrap, is an important part of the dynamics of the gold market.
In the statistics, scrap is defined as being gold that has been sourced from old fabricated products that have been recovered and refined back into bars. It does not include jewellery that has simply been traded in and resold without being re-refined, or resold investment bars and coins.
Most recycled gold generated originates from jewellery. Smaller amounts come from recuperated electronics components and, at times, from investment bars and coins.
The supply of scrap depends largely on economic circumstances and on the behaviour of the gold price. It is common practice in the Middle East and Asia for customers to trade in one piece of jewellery in exchange for another, and the piece traded in may be melted down rather than simply being resold. But gold can also be sold for cash either if the owner has need of money or if the owner wants to cash in a profit following a rise in the gold price. It follows that scrap supply typically rises in times of economic distress or following a price rise.
1 comment:
I found this fantastic jewelry artist who uses recycled gold. And his rose cut diamonds are recycled from antique pieces. His name is Todd Reed and you can see his stuff at alteredspacegallery.com. Most of his pieces use raw diamonds. His designs are amazing and I really appreciate the fact that he only uses diamonds form conflict-free zones. I wish more jewelry designers would use recycled gold. It looks the same and it helps our little planet.
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