LOS ANGELES (AP) — At the biggest jewelry center in the United States, Alberto Hernandez fired up his machine on a recent day and waited until it glowed bright orange inside before shoveling in an assortment of rings, earrings and necklaces weighing about as much as a bar of soap: just under 100 grams, or 3.2 troy ounces.
Minutes later, the bubbling liquid metal was cooling in a rectangular cast the size of a woman’s shoe. An X-ray machine determined it was 56.5% gold, making it worth $177,000 based on the price of gold that day.
As gold prices soar to record highs during global economic jitters, hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of gold are circulating through the doors of St. Vincent Jewelry Center in downtown Los Angeles on any given day.
Many of the center’s 500 independent tenants, which include jewelers, gold refiners and assayers, say they have never seen such a surge in customers.
“Right now, we’re seeing a lot of rappers and stuff melting their big pieces,” said Alberto’s nephew, Sabashden Hernandez, who works at A&M Precious Metals. “We’re getting a lot of new customers who are just getting all of their grandfather’s stuff, melting it down pretty much.”
Gold’s current rally comes as President Donald Trump issues ever-changing announcements on tariffs, roiling financial markets and threatening to reignite inflation.
In response, people across the country are flocking to sell or melt down their old jewelry for quick cash, including middlemen like pawn shop owners. Others, thinking their money might be safer in gold than in the volatile stock market, are snapping it up just as fast.
Los Angeles jeweler Olivia Kazanjian said people are even bringing in family heirlooms.
“They’re melting things with their family’s wedding dates and things from the 1800s,” Kazanjian said.
She recently paid a client for a 14-karat gold woven bracelet with intricate blue enamel work that could be turned into a brooch. The customer walked away with $3,200 for the amount of gold contained in the piece measured in troy ounces, the standard for precious metals equivalent to 31 grams.
But Kazanjian doesn’t plan to melt the piece. The real artistic and historical value was a lot more, she said.
“It’s just stunning … and you won’t see that kind of craftsmanship again,” Kazanjian said, adding she has persuaded some customers to change their minds about melting items. “It’s a piece of history, and if you’re lucky enough to inherit it, it’s a piece of your family.”
Businesses on the sales side of the action, offering gold bars and other material, also are working hard to keep up with the frenzy.
Story Continues
