Gold Love Trade Could Set New Valentines Spending Record iStock This Valentines Day might best be remembered for two things in particular One for the first time in 153 years candy lovers wont be able to pick up a box of Sweethearts those classic heart-shaped candies bearing sweet nothings like BE MINE and CRAZY 4 U And two consumers are set to spend more than 20 billion on Valentines gifts for the first time ever thanks in part to a surge in gold jewelry demand specifically yellow gold Regarding Sweethearts theyll be missing from store shelves this year because the candys manufacturer Necco sadly went bankrupt last May But never fear Its new owner Spangler Candy Company maker of Dum Dums lollipops could bring them back as soon as next year As for Valentines Day spending what I find interesting is that it continues to grow even as the number of people who admit to celebrating the holiday has been on the decline for years now according to the National Retail Federation NRF Its estimated that Americans will shell out an all-time high of 207 billion this year easily topping the previous record of 197 billion set in 2016 The increase in spending I believe can largely be attributed to the Love Trade which is all about golds timeless role as a treasured gift Of the 207 billion an estimated 18 percent or 39 billion will be spent on jewelry alone much of it featuring gold silver and other precious metals and minerals Just take a look at the results of a recent WalletHub survey When asked what kind of Valentines Day gift was best most women said they preferred jewelry beating out gift cards flowers and chocolates Interestingly a third of men said they preferred gift cards with only 4 percent saying they thought jewelry was the best gift YOU MAY ALSO LIKE American Women Prefer Jewelry According to WalletHub Survey US Global Investors Yellow Gold Gets a Royal Endorsement But what kind of jewelry should you get your spouse or partner You may have seen stories about how yellow gold jewelry as opposed to white and rose gold not to mention silver and platinum began to fall out of favor in the 1990s the attitude being that it was tacky or old fashioned Personally I dont believe its ever fallen out of fashion but we have been seeing its popularity gain additional ground lately Look no further than Menē the revolutionary 24-karat jewelry company thats disrupting the industry Much of the renewed interest in yellow gold jewelry is thanks to Prince Harry who presented Meghan Markle with a gold engagement ring in late 2017 Speaking to the BBC the prince said that choosing yellow gold was a no-brainer The ring is obviously yellow gold because thats Meghans favorite he said adding that the inset diamonds are from his mother Princess Dianas jewelry collection to make sure shes with us on this crazy journey together Industry experts are taking notice Well-known designer Stephanie Gottlieb told Brides magazine in December that she was seeing more and more requests for the yellow metal Our brides are turning to the same metal that graces their mothers engagement rings but elevating it to take yellow gold from the 80s squarely into 2019 Gottlieb said It should come as no surprise then that Google searches for gold jewelry surged to an 11-year high this past December Google Searches for Gold Jewelry Hit an 11-Year High in December 2018 US Global Investors Whats more gold jewelry demand in the US rose to a nine-year high in 2018 according to the World Gold Council WGC Americans bought as much as 1284 tonnes during the year up 4 percent from 2017 while fourth-quarter demand of 481 tonnes was the highest since 2009 A Gift That Doubles as an Investment Ideally youre buying jewelry for a loved one this Valentines because it looks great on and makes them happy But when I buy gold jewelry in particular it helps to know that the piece doubles as an investment Unlike some other costly gifts gold jewelry will hold its value for many years to come In a recent presentation Menē points out that a 50-gram gold bracelet purchased 20 years ago for 500 would have outperformed both the S P 500 Index and the US dollar That same bracelet Menē says would today be worth around 2 000 Happy Valentines Day -- All opinions expressed and data provided are subject to change without notice Some of these opinions may not be appropriate to every investor By clicking the link s above you will be directed to a third-party website s US Global Investors does not endorse all information supplied by this these website s and is not responsible for its their content The S P 500 Stock Index is a widely recognized capitalization-weighted index of 500 common stock prices in US companies Holdings may change daily Holdings are reported as of the most recent quarter-end The following securities mentioned in the article were held by one or more accounts managed by US Global Investors as of 12 30 2018 Menē Inc US Global Investors Inc is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC This does not mean that we are sponsored recommended or approved by the SEC or that our abilities or qualifications in any respect have been passed upon by the SEC or any officer of the SEC This commentary should not be considered a solicitation or offering of any investment product Certain materials in this commentary may contain dated information The information provided was current at the time of publication