Gold and Silver Prices and Jewelry: 2026 Statistics

Updated November 2026. By Samuel Madrid, founder of Miami The Jeweler. Prices checked November 9, 2026.

Gold and silver both set all-time highs in January 2026, and both have since fallen back. Jewelry buyers felt it. People around the world spent more on gold jewelry than ever while buying less of it by weight, and many jewelers expect shoppers to keep moving toward silver, plated and lower-karat pieces. This page collects the numbers behind that shift, with the source and date for each.

Key statistics

  • Gold hit an all-time high of $5,589.38 per ounce on January 28, 2026 (Kitco). On November 9, 2026, it traded near $4,138, about 26% below that peak.
  • Gold set 53 all-time highs in 2025 (World Gold Council).
  • Global gold jewelry demand fell to 1,542 tonnes in 2025, a five-year low, while its value hit a record $172 billion (World Gold Council).
  • In Q3 2026, gold jewelry demand fell 17% year over year to 313 tonnes, the weakest third quarter in World Gold Council data going back to 2000.
  • Silver broke its 1980 record on October 17, 2025 at $54.48, then peaked above $121 on January 29, 2026 (Silver Institute; Kitco). It traded near $53 on November 9, 2026.
  • Global silver jewelry fabrication fell 8% in 2025 to 189.3 million ounces, and the Silver Institute forecasts another 16% drop in 2026.
  • 94% of independent jewelers named gold as the price change with the biggest impact on their business (INSTORE 2026 Big Survey).

Gold prices, 2025 to 2026

Measure Figure Source
All-time high $5,589.38 per ounce, January 28, 2026 Kitco
Price on November 9, 2026 About $4,138 per ounce Kitco
Distance from the record About 26% below Our calculation
All-time highs set in 2025 53 World Gold Council
Average price, Q3 2026 $4,262 per ounce World Gold Council

Sources quote slightly different record figures depending on whether they use intraday spot prices, futures settlements or the LBMA benchmark. We use Kitco's spot figure.

Gold jewelry demand: less metal, more money

Period Gold jewelry demand (tonnes) Value
2024 1,866.9 n/a
2025 1,542.3 (five-year low) $172 billion (record, up 18%)
Q3 2025 376.4 n/a
Q3 2026 312.9 (down 17%) $43 billion (up 2%)
Jan to Sep 2026 889 (down 19%, lowest in the series) About $130 billion (up 15%)

Q3 2026 marked the 13th straight quarter of year-over-year declines in gold jewelry tonnage. It came in below even the pandemic-hit Q3 2020 total of 331 tonnes.

The World Gold Council found the same pattern in almost every market: shoppers kept spending but bought lighter, smaller and lower-karat pieces. US gold jewelry demand fell 18% to 21 tonnes in Q3 2026, while US spending held steady at about $3 billion.

Silver prices and silver jewelry

Measure Figure Source
Price at the start of 2025 Below $29 per ounce Silver Institute
Average price, 2025 $40.03 per ounce, up 42% Silver Institute
Broke the 1980 record $54.48, October 17, 2025 Silver Institute
All-time high $121.67, January 29, 2026 Kitco
Price on November 9, 2026 About $53.30 per ounce Kitco
Distance from the record About 56% below Our calculation

Silver ran harder than gold and fell further. The Silver Institute reported that the gold-to-silver price ratio dropped to 55, its lowest since March 2013, when silver traded near $80. On November 9, 2026, the ratio stood near 78 (our calculation from Kitco prices).

Silver jewelry fabrication 2024 2025 2026 forecast
Global 205.1 million oz 189.3 million oz (down 8%) 159.4 million oz (down 16%)
United States 11.3 million oz 10.3 million oz (down 9%) n/a
North America n/a 16.9 million oz 14.5 million oz (down 14%)

In India, the largest silver jewelry market, the Silver Institute credited gold-plated silver and organized retail with limiting the losses.

What jewelers are seeing

INSTORE magazine's 2026 Big Survey drew more than 500 owners and managers of independent jewelry stores across North America, collected September 14 to October 12, 2026.

Finding Share of jewelers
Named gold as the price change with the biggest impact 94%
Named silver 2%
Said rising gold prices left them richer 53%
Said rising gold prices left them poorer 14%
Reported a higher average price per item About 75%
Reported higher revenue 70%
See more customer interest in substantial gold jewelry 24%

Asked to predict the next breakout trend, jewelers put alternatives to expensive gold among their two leading answers, alongside lab-grown diamonds. They named silver, gold-filled, plated and low-karat pieces, and two-tone designs that pair silver with gold.

How much metal is in your jewelry

Karat and fineness marks tell you how much precious metal a piece contains. Here is what each grade holds, with the metal value per gram at November 9, 2026 spot prices. These figures cover the metal only. They leave out stones, labor, design and finishing, which make up much of what you pay for a finished piece.

Mark Precious metal content Metal value per gram (Nov 9, 2026)
24K gold 99.9% gold About $132.91
18K gold 75% gold About $99.78
14K gold 58.3% gold About $77.61
10K gold 41.7% gold About $55.43
925 sterling silver 92.5% silver About $1.58

At these prices, a gram of 14K gold holds about 49 times the metal value of a gram of 925 sterling silver (our calculation from Kitco's per-gram prices of $133.04 for gold and $1.71 for silver).

Gold plating adds a thin layer of gold over another metal. An 18K gold-plated piece looks like yellow gold but contains far less gold than solid 18K. Plating can wear with use, contact with chemicals and skin contact, and sterling silver can tarnish over time.

Where Miami The Jeweler fits

This section describes Miami The Jeweler's materials, not industry data.

Our core moissanite collection sets VVS1, D-color moissanite in 925 sterling silver. Our yellow-finish pieces are 18K gold-plated 925 sterling silver, and we label them that way. Our diamond line sets natural and lab-grown diamonds in solid 10K, 14K or 18K gold.

We chose silver for the moissanite line on purpose. It lets us build substantial, heavily stone-set chains and pendants at prices far below an equivalent diamond-and-gold piece. The metal is only part of the piece, so setting, stone consistency and construction get the same attention in both lines. Different materials, same obsession with quality.

How we built this page

  • We used the World Gold Council, the Silver Institute (with research by Metals Focus), INSTORE magazine and Kitco's published spot prices.
  • Spot prices move every few seconds. The November 9, 2026 prices on this page come from Kitco in the afternoon, Eastern Time.
  • We plan to refresh this page after each quarterly World Gold Council report.

Cite this page

Miami The Jeweler. "Gold and Silver Prices and Jewelry: 2026 Statistics." miamithejeweler.com/pages/gold-silver-prices-jewelry-statistics. Updated November 2026.

You may use any figure on this page with a link back to this page.

Frequently asked questions

What was the highest gold price ever? Gold reached $5,589.38 per ounce on January 28, 2026, according to Kitco. On November 9, 2026, it traded near $4,138, about 26% below that record.

What was the highest silver price ever? Silver peaked at $121.67 per ounce on January 29, 2026, according to Kitco. It had first broken its 1980 record on October 17, 2025, at $54.48.

Are people buying less gold jewelry? Yes, by weight. Global gold jewelry demand fell to 1,542 tonnes in 2025, a five-year low. The first nine months of 2026 came in 19% below the same months of 2025, while spending rose 15%. Buyers are paying more for less gold.

How much gold is in 14K gold? 14K gold contains 58.3% pure gold. 18K contains 75% and 10K contains 41.7%.

Is gold-plated silver the same as solid gold? No. Gold-plated silver has a thin layer of gold over silver. Solid gold jewelry is gold alloy all the way through, marked with its karat, such as 10K, 14K or 18K.

Is silver jewelry demand falling too? Yes. Global silver jewelry fabrication fell 8% in 2025 to 189.3 million ounces, and the Silver Institute expects a 16% drop in 2026.

Sources