Rings are rings my friend. I'd take those any day I'm in a gold slump too. Here's my theory...
With the current sky high price of yellow, most middle class, average folks are cashing it in. So, a lot less of it to go around. Also, I think they're a LOT more careful now that their pieces are worth double what they were a year or two ago. Couple all of this with MANY more detectors hitting the beaches looking to cash in as well, and there's just not as much to go around