As a previous goldsmith, I'd say it's the materials used (gold/platinum over silver) and the time one puts into a piece. Gold is easier to work with than silve

As a previous goldsmith, I'd say it's the materials used (gold/platinum over silver) and the time one puts into a piece. Gold is easier to work with than silver as you don't have to worry about fire-scale and it's more malleable, so if you're able to produce a piece in silver, or stainless steel for that matter, then making the same piece in gold just comes down to investing more in your materials (~$1,8000 vs $30 an oz for gold vs. silver) for each piece. After that the time, embellishments are just more time invested with the piece.