EL PASO, Texas -- This time last year, an ounce of gold could be purchased for $750. On Wednesday, that same ounce of gold costs just more than $900. As result, gold jewelry costs more, people are buying less, and some jewelry stores are hurting.

For the last 21 years, Quality Jewelry has had a downtown location on South El Paso Street. The inside is filled with jewelry of every shape and size, and it's more expensive than ever before.

"It's really hard, because people are not used to paying those high prices," said Leoby Soto with Quality Jewelry.

Soto is talking about the high price of gold, up $150 in the last year, nearly $600 over the last five years, for just one ounce.

"When gold started going up, started quoting those big prices, some people would even get upset and walk out," said Soto.

Soto told KFOX, as the price of gold rose, so did her prices, and bread and butter items like hoop earrings sit unsold in the display case.

"We used to sell them for like $109, $125, now they're like three to four hundred dollars, and that's the item that sells the most," said Soto.

At Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry, they have a unique solution to get new jewelry without having to spend a lot of money. You take your old gold, and then turn it into something new.

"We take a torch and we melt down the gold until it's like water, and then we heat it up and we pour it in the flask, and after we've broken all of the plaster of paris, out comes a ring exactly like the wax, but in real gold," said Susan Eisen.

Eisen says she has never seen the price of gold so high, and that melting old gold and turning it into something new is a good alternative.

"Besides saving a lot of money, they get something exactly what they want and they've spent very little to get it," said Eisen.