Gold rush to raise cash

9:02am Saturday 30th August 2008

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JEWELLERS have reported a huge increase in the number of people raiding their jewellery boxes to raise cash.

They say more people are using old gold items they have stashed away at home to raise funds to pay for household bills, special occasions and holidays.

Jason Allum, managing director of Allum and Sidaway jewellers in Dorchester, said they have witnessed a 'mini-gold rush' of people cashing in. He added: "There's been a tenfold increase in people coming through the door with unwanted pieces in the last six months.

"The price of gold shot up this year and this has triggered a huge increase in people coming to our stores to see what they can earn.

"The price is still high so anyone who has a jewellery box with some unused and unloved old-fashioned pieces rattling at the bottom could be sitting on a small fortune.

"People are quite astute to gold prices and have been looking in their drawers and thinking about items they don't use anymore.

"It's also great news for anyone holding on to family heirlooms as an investment who wants to find some extra money for a special treat or perhaps just to pay the electricity bill."

Owner of Wessex Jewellers in Bridport, Richard Slark, said the increase is down to customers increasing financial problems.

He said: "It's the credit crunch with people hard up for cash because of an increase in utility bills and having to pay for holidays with anything they can dig up.

"We've seen more people bringing in older family jewellery to exchange for money than those swapping it for new products."

The price of gold briefly reached $1,000 an ounce for the first time this year amid concerns over the strength of the United States dollar.

But the owner of Weymouth Goldsmiths, Paul Arnold, said customers should not expect gold found at home to be the answer to their financial worries.

He said: "If they need money to pay for their electricity bills I don't think it will solve their problem.

"You would have to have an awful lot of jewellery and the biggest deal that we might see for granny's old stuff is about £200.

"We don't see suites of diamonds of a necklace, bracelet and earrings coming in."

Debt adviser at Dorchester Citizens Advice Bureau, Keith Greening, recommended that people should come to them for advice.

"I guess people are generally finding life much more difficult at the moment and they're finding it harder to cope.

"It all depends on the individual circumstances but it might be worth taking individual advice on other options before exchanging old jewellery.

"We are seeing about 25 per cent more clients compared to this time last year and bankruptcies are up about the same.

"We're seeing more people using credit cards to fund their grocery bill."