There is a school of thought which believes that there is a war starting for consumer dollars between gold and cosmetic surgery. Traditionally, jewellery has always been popular with women with a lot of money each year spent on it, however with many new techniques appearing and the decreasing costs of cosmetic surgery, many women are already turning to cosmetic surgery instead of shopping. The cosmetic surgery march is already starting to make progress in third world countries, and it probably won’t be long until it displaces commodities such as flat screens, mobile phones or drugs.

In 2005, Americans spent over $12 billion on cosmetic surgery procedures. If some of this wealth could be tapped from the emerging markets such as India, China and Middle East – the current ‘hotspots’ for gold – there could be much profit to be made. Perhaps proof of this is an Indian newspaper who have claimed that an international cosmetic surgery company are planning to make a $2 billion investment into Botox, with India being the critical country for production and consumption.

Gold jewellery demand Worldwide is also down – in fact 2006 was the worst year for gold since records began. India’s demand for gold fell by 18%, and the Middle East’s demand fell by a staggering 22%. America and Europe also saw smaller declines in gold demand.

Does this spell a new era in beauty with perfect faces being the new ‘in-thing’ to have?