Wairarapa 'old' gold rush

Rising gold prices have encouraged Wairarapa people to count and restore their precious metal fortunes, say the region's jewellers.
Vania Ireland of Masterton Showcase Jeweller has noted a huge increase in jewellery valuations, insurance claims and repairs.
"People are valuing their goods, people know the value of their gold now," Ms Ireland said.
"It's gone through the roof."
While new sales have remained static, more people are bringing in items to be valued or looked at for repairs. These include old gold watches or intricate gold necklaces.
Ms Ireland said the "big jobs" that cost in the hundreds of dollars for repair used to turn up at the rate of "one or two a month", but now are coming in much more frequently.
"We're telling people it will cost $400, $500, $600, $700 ... and then going, 'Wow, they said yes'," Ms Ireland said.
"We're getting that on a daily basis".
Ms Ireland said repaired items were coming back from the craftsman at the rate of four or five a week.
James Moran, a manufacturing jeweller at the Jewel Centre in Carterton, has also noticed an increase in valuations and repairs. Those valuations, says Mr Moran, are being driven by the insurance industry.
"The insurance companies are telling them, get it valued."
Items heavy in gold, such as bracelets or necklaces, are now "four times the price from 10 years ago".
Meanwhile some Wairarapa people are trying to turn their jewellery into cash, and Mr Moran said to beware of some traders who advertise and then buy gold by coming into people's homes.
Mr Moran said it was often the elderly who responded to such advertisements and they didn't always do well out of the trade.
"These poor old people, they take them down," Mr Moran said.
"They give them much less than [the jewellery] is worth.
"It happens in every industry."
From a retail perspective, sales have dropped, Mr Moran said, partly with the recession and partly with competition from online buying.
He encourages consumers to be wary of high prices that are heavily discounted because traders can start from whatever price they like to give the impression of a bargain.
Daniel Palmer, a Masterton manufacturing jeweller, said for most retail jewellery, higher gold prices don't greatly affect the cost.
"Most rings don't weigh as much as an ounce," Mr Palmer said.
Despite the recession, Mr Palmer was upbeat about demand for his products.
"Jewellery is one of those things that's always bought," he said. "People are still going to get engaged and they're going to want a ring.
"People are still having anniversaries."