Jan 12, 2026
The price of gold has shot up this year, even hitting a record high in October. While that may be good news for investors, those who own gold jewelry might want to consider what climbing prices mean for the pieces sitting in their jewelry box at home.
Gold — and other precious metals such as platinum and silver — have been trading higher, with the price of the yellow metal jumping from around $2,658 at the start of January 2025, to a staggering $4,467 per troy ounce by the first full week of January 2026 (1).
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The price of gold, referred to as the “spot price (2),” is the current sale price of a troy ounce (31.1 grams) of 24 karat gold.
Record highs
CNBC reported that the price of gold has climbed by about 1,400% since the year 2000, as compared to a 382% gain in the S&P 500 over the same time frame (3).
The climbing price of gold means that jewelry made of gold, gold coins or bars (or even other precious metals) has also increased in value. CNBC reports that the retail value of gold jewelry is generally higher than the metal used in the jewelry itself, depending on the quality of the piece and gold content (karats).
Because pure gold is quite malleable, it is often combined with other metals to make it more durable for use in jewelry (4).
But when it comes to insurance, the value of the metal will differ from the replacement value, which will typically be closer to the retail value, CNBC says. Their report warns that standard home or rental insurance typically has low coverage for jewelry.
According to insurance provider Policygenius, home insurance coverage for jewelry and for other high-value items is more limited than for other personal belongings.
In the personal property coverage section of your policy, you will find what perils your insurance covers, such as fire, weather-related damage or even theft (5).
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However, insurers have a limit to what they will pay in the case of jewelry theft, called a special limit of liability, or sublimit. Standard policies have sublimits for jewelry theft of about $1,500 typically.
Also, check your policy to see whether your coverage has a sublimit per item, with a maximum that you would be paid per piece of jewelry, or a blanket jewelry sublimit, with a limit to how much you’ll receive in the event you lose all pieces of your jewelry collection.
Sarah Cast, with Allstate, told CNBC that sublimits for jewelry are “often around $1,000 to $2,500 total, and don’t cover accidental loss or wear and tear.”
You may be able to add a rider with additional coverage for your jewelry to your existing policy, or you can purchase separate coverage from another insurer, such as one that specifically insures jewelry.
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Check your coverage
Because of the climbing price of gold, it may be a good time to not only review your policy, but to update any appraisals you may have for high-value items.
“Many insurers and advisors recommend reappraising jewelry every few years, especially when market conditions (like gold price surges) shift to ensure coverage stays adequate,” Loretta Worters, a spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, told CNBC (3).
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Check whether your insurance policy will allow you to add additional coverage, called scheduled personal property coverage, which raises the coverage for high-value items (6).
To “schedule” your jewelry, you will likely need to have it appraised, and you should also collect receipts and photographs of your pieces. Consider keeping a backup of this documentation in a secure location other than your home, in case your original copies are lost or damaged (7).
Cataloging your jewelry and reviewing your insurance policy can also be part of a wider inventory of both your belongings and your coverage in the event of a disaster.
While making an inventory of all your belongings might seem daunting, it’s a process you can do over time, room by room. Collect receipts and photographs/videos of your belongings, being sure that when you make new purchases, you update your inventory.
Like jewelry, other high-value items, such as collectibles, antiques or fine art, are typically only covered up to a limited amount by a regular insurance policy. Items like these should also be scheduled, to ensure that you have adequate coverage should disaster strike.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Yahoo Finance (1); Fortune (2); CNBC (3); American Gem Society (4); Policygenius (5, 6); California Department of Insurance (7)
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Rebecca Payne has more than a decade of experience editing and producing both local and national daily newspapers. She's worked on the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, Metro, Canada's National Observer, the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press.
