Gold and Silver in 2026: What Can Jewelers Expect?

1. Investment decisions are always personal, or between you and your advisor. That said, I think looking into gold and silver is something I like to do to help safeguard my future, especially looking at all the economic volatility as well as the past performance of these metals, which are integral parts of human history. As a third-generation jeweler, I see the permanence of gold and silver value every day, which I think attests to their economic significance and reliability. Gold and Silver, as investment tools, are what people say they are, "safe havens" but what people tend to forget is how tangible and sought after these metals are for their uses in jewelry. I can't say you should or shouldn't buy gold "before 2026" but I will say that they are both incredible naturally occurring earthly commodities that have value beyond their market price.

2. Investors of all sizes, large central banks to the everyday individual, have always been interested in precious metals, mainly gold, to curb the risk of their portfolio. But during economic and geopolitical uncertainty the interest always seems to rise. The Central Bank's interest has risen in recent years due to how the COVID-19 epidemic affected the stock market, similarly to the 2008 financial crisis, so much value was wiped away and illuminated weaknesses in the market that weren't thought possible. And just like in 2008, we saw a massive spike in gold buying and the gold price itself. Inflation has also created an opportunity for gold to be of even more value as the dollar has taken a hit these last few years. During times of economic uncertainty, gold, an already valuable asset becomes even more appealing.

Today, we are seeing tech stocks dominate the market, to levels previously thought unheard of... see a pattern? As the US stock market relies more and more on the AI boom, we are seeing a bubble appear right before our eyes. Put that together with the geopolitical tensions between trade tariffs, and wars it's easy to see how gold has doubled in the last couple of years.

3. Consider buying at these levels if you believe the current economic and geopolitical landscape will continue to be unpredictable. Do you think AI is the future and that tech companies were meant to take up 40% of the S&P 500? If so, gold may begin to simmer down as this world begins to accept that. If not, gold may increase in value. Either way, in my opinion, precious metals are not meant to be purchased as an asset that you think you will make quick money on. The value of gold has been a long standing integral part of human history and should only be considered as an asset with strong value.

As a wholesale jewelry store owner, I see day in a day out that even at these elevated prices, people are still buying. Gold will always be of value to people because of its beauty and historical/intrinsic properties (what other commodity gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside when you wear it?) This means that you are not relying on a company (stocks) or a country (bonds) to make the right decisions, you are relying on the thousands of years of relevance and the value gold has kept through it all!

4. Gold and Silver are very similar as they are very easy to work with (for jewelry) and have other values outside of jewelry manufacturing. This includes instruments, electronics, engineering, dentistry, etc. In terms of investments, they have similar movements, and do not differ greatly because they are used in these very similar ways. Silver, however, is a much easier metal to invest in as its value has always been around 1-2% of golds. A gateway metal to invest in. Normally physical investment in these metals are in ounce coins or kilo bars, so with gold at $4000/oz and Silver at $50, it's much easier to invest in Silver.

5. Whatever you feel is a safe hedge against your current portfolio. If the world's economy crashes tomorrow, how much do you want to hedge against your current investments? I cannot advise on how much but what I can advise is that precious metals have value beyond their market price, in the ways outlined above, which you can't say for many investment tools. So keep that in mind when investing in general.

6. Investment options vary from digital to physical. Both have pros and cons, the value of the ETF is there for you to divest anytime, however, as we have seen with Robinhood and Gamestop, those markets can restrict investment at any moment without giving you notice of any kind. If you believe in "the system", those digital assets are fine investment tools.

But again, like in the scenario outlined above, having physical gold or silver bars and coins will allow you to go to an establishment and get liquid cash. But then you are relying on establishments like jewelry stores and pawn shops for their fair price and liquidity as well. I prefer the physical.

7. During times of uncertainty in regards to the geopolitical and economic landscape of the world, gold and other precious metals tend to increase. COVID, 2008 financial crisis and the most recent AI/tech bubble have a correlation with increased value of gold. The world's ongoing wars also increase the uncertainty. Throw in inflation and trade wars and you have a perfect storm of events that have increased the value of gold. During times of peace and a stable world economy, gold should come back down, but when has that ever been the case?

Takeaways from Ian’s Perspectives: 

1. Gold and silver are positioned as long-term “safe haven” assets because their value is reinforced not only by markets but also by their tangible, historical, and everyday demand in jewelry.
   
   
2. Economic shocks and geopolitical instability consistently drive gold buying, as investors and central banks turn to it when stocks wobble, inflation rises, and confidence in financial systems weakens.
   
   
3. Precious metals shouldn’t be treated like short-term profit plays, but rather as a durable hedge whose appeal persists even at high prices because it isn’t dependent on corporations or governments to “perform.”
   
   
4. Silver acts as a more accessible entry point than gold, following similar market trends while being far cheaper per ounce and still supported by broad industrial and jewelry use.
   
   
5. How much to invest depends on how much protection you want from portfolio risk, but the key argument is that metals retain real-world utility value that many financial instruments don’t.
   
   
6. Physical metal is framed as the more reliable form of ownership, since digital options like ETFs can be restricted or disrupted, while bars and coins remain directly liquid through real-world buyers.
   
   
7. Gold’s recent surge is tied to a “perfect storm” of uncertainty, with inflation, trade tensions, wars, and potential tech/AI bubbles all reinforcing demand for stability assets.