According to a recent article in Crain’s Chicago Business (December 20, 2010), gold prices climbed past $1,400 an ounce, more

Gold prices continue to rise, making alternative gold-toned jewelry strong sellers as consumers look for the gold look at more reasonable prices.

than 25% this year to an all-time record. While many fine jewelers note that demand for gold is still strong, many jewelers admitted that they’ve had to adjust inventory and introduce more sterling silver options to their selections.

One of the things our retailers tell us is that our copper and brass jewelry sells well in their shops because of this very reason – their customers love the look of gold, but can’t afford the pricey metal or want more design options than traditional gold jewelry. Our pieces from South Africa feature copper and brass metal combined with either man-made or semi-precious gemstones, are of high-quality and the designs are just spectacular. Each and every one of our fair trade pieces are handmade by a group of 18 artisans, all of whom came to the studio with zero experience making jewelry let alone working with metals.

Retailers originally place a small order when they haven’t had the benefit of seeing the pieces in person since they aren’t sure of the quality or how their customers will react to the pieces. It’s not unusual for us to get a call within days, sometimes that very same EVENING the shipment is received to tell us they’re going to be placing another order right away because they’ve sold out of many pieces. It delights us since we know that retailer realizes the value of our pieces and they are thrilled to offer their customers unique, handmade, high-quality and fairly traded jewelry and great prices.

Our World Shoppe Organic Cuff is handmade by artisans in South Africa using copper and brass.

Featured here is one of our more recent designs, our Organic Cuff named so because of its natural edges. It’s handmade and fairly traded and makes a wonderful gold-toned statement using copper and brass metals. Because it’s a cuff, it makes it easy to adjust the cuff to fit wrists by squeezing the bottom of the cuff.

To learn more about our fair trade copper and brass jewelry, fair trade or our artisan partners in South Africa, visit http://www.World-Shoppe.com or email Megy at megy at World-Shoppe dot com.

What do you think? Are copper and brass going to come on strong in 2012? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Until then, we hope to see you at http://www.World-Shoppe.com!