So Alan Greenspan – former chairman of the Federal Reserve – thinks this equals the Great Crash, if not out-bads it.

It’s hard to over-egg the importance of Indian jewelry demand in the physical gold market. Between 2000 and 2007, gold jewelry sold in India accounted for one ounce-in-nine sold worldwide. One ounce in every five wound up as an Indian import (its domestic mines produce less than six tons per year), ready to be hung off young brides as 24-carat dowries or worked into bracelets and necklaces for the international market.

After 25 years of booming asset markets, it’s getting hard to keep hold of your money, let alone grow it, says The Bullion Vault’s Adrian Ash. But if you want to steal a march, consider moving a portion of your wealth into physical gold today. Adrian says that “as long as the cost of living is rising but asset-prices are falling, that should prove a major advantage over holding bonds, stocks or cash.”

For the ten years to last week the S&P 500 – widely considered the benchmark for U.S. stock performance – delivered less than zero gains, says Adrian Ash in Whiskey and Gunpowder. That’s even after accounting for dividends (good) as well as inflation (bad). Stocks won’t become a good income-paying asset class unless earnings rise sharply or inflation falls. Neither are likely in the short term…

After its run past $1,000 an ounce in March, gold has been dropping. So are we going through a price dip? A market correction? Or is it simply too late for investors to play the gold bull rush.