Gold has had one of its most dramatic price runs in modern history over the past two years. After spending years between $1,800 and $2,100 USD per ounce, gold prices surged above $3,000 USD/oz in early 2025 and peaked above $5,000 USD/oz at points in 2026. For South Asian families in Calgary who have traditionally kept wealth in gold jewellery, this has raised an important question: is 22K gold jewellery still a good investment in 2026?
The honest answer is nuanced — and it depends on what you mean by investment.
The first thing to understand is that buying 22K gold jewellery is different from buying gold coins or gold bars as a pure financial investment. When you buy jewellery, you pay for the gold AND the craftsmanship — the making charges. This making charge, which covers the skilled labour involved in creating the piece, typically adds 8 to 20 percent to the cost of the raw gold depending on the complexity of the design.
If you immediately sold a gold necklace the day after buying it, you would receive the scrap gold price — which is the value of the metal only, without the making charge. This means jewellery is not a liquid investment in the same way that gold coins or ETFs are.
Where 22K gold jewellery differs from purely financial investment is that it serves a dual purpose. While you own it, you wear it, enjoy it, use it for celebrations, pass it to family members, and derive cultural and emotional value from it. When you eventually sell gold or trade it in, you recover the gold value.
Over a long enough timeframe — particularly in the current environment where gold prices have risen significantly — many South Asian families who bought 22K gold jewellery five or ten years ago have seen the gold value of their pieces increase substantially. A necklace purchased for $2,000 in 2020 might now have a gold scrap value of $5,000 or more.
This is the traditional South Asian view of gold jewellery — not as a short-term speculation but as a store of generational wealth that you wear and enjoy along the way.
This is the question most Calgary customers are asking in 2026. The honest answer is that no one can predict where gold rate will go next. Analysts are divided — some expect gold to continue rising as a hedge against currency uncertainty and geopolitical risk, while others expect a correction as interest rates and economic conditions change. You can read more about how gold rates are calculated in our gold rate guide.
What we do know from decades of experience at VJ Jewellers is this: South Asian families who have bought high-quality 22K gold jewellery over the years — whether at high prices or low — have generally been satisfied with their purchases over the long term. The gold held value. The jewellery was worn and cherished. The purchase served its cultural purpose regardless of what the market did in the short term.
Rather than trying to buy at the exact right price, the more important factors when buying 22K gold jewellery are: buying genuine 916 hallmark certified 22K gold from a trusted jeweller, understanding exactly what you are paying (gold rate, making charge, tax — separately), choosing a piece you will actually wear and enjoy, and buying from a store that offers honest pricing and after-sales service.
At VJ Jewellers, we display the live daily 22K gold rate every morning and show every customer the exact breakdown of what they are paying before any purchase. We believe an informed customer is the best customer — and transparency is why we have over 1,030 five-star Google reviews from real Calgary families.
If your primary goal is gold as a financial investment rather than jewellery to wear, gold coins and bars are a more appropriate vehicle. We also carry 22K and 24K gold coins at VJ Jewellers — priced purely on the gold weight at the daily rate with no making charge. For customers interested in gold as an investment specifically, gold coins offer the clearest entry and exit without the making charge consideration.
The South Asian community's relationship with gold is not purely financial — it is cultural, generational, and emotional. Gold jewellery marks births, weddings, festivals, and milestones. These are reasons to buy gold jewellery that exist completely independently of what gold is trading at on any given day.
If you are considering buying 22K gold jewellery in Calgary and want to understand exactly how current gold prices affect the cost of specific pieces, we are happy to walk you through the calculation in store. No pressure, no obligation — just clear information.
📍Cityscape Landing Plaza, Unit 5126, 4310 104 Ave NE, Calgary NE
📞(403) 899-2121
🕐Mon: 11–6:30 | Tue: Closed | Wed–Thu: 11–6:30 | Fri–Sat: 11–7 | Sun: 11–6
