Everything was cheaper. Factoring cost of inflation, supply and demand, global markets and mark-up, I can not afford to buy precious metal or gemstone jewelry now. It would be interesting to see what a pair of diamond studs- a carat each (2ctw) -F color and VV2 with a good cut cost set in platinum in 1977, 1987, 1997, 2007 and 2017. Pick a store that has been in retail all of these years. Although Tiffany's is more expensive than other stores, Tiffany's can be used as the benchmark as the store has been around all these years and they do not have sales on these stock items. It is rate of increase in price between each decade that is the determinative factor. Compare the rate of inflation to say a Camero or Cadillac ( list price with same specs and model) for cars purchased during these years, full time freshman tuition at a state university, or another thing not subject to subsidies, size shrinkage or other measures to soften the costs. My analysis may be over simplistic but it makes sense to me.
300x240.png)