NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Gold at $500 an ounce ... wow.

As striking as this is, I well remember interviews I did a year and a half ago where some very smart people gave some very convincing arguments as to why this level would be hit. Their timing was a bit off as some seemed to think this would happen by the end of 2004, not 2005.

Even so, I wish I had heeded their calls and purchased some of the glittery stuff in the form of an investment and not just another pretty pair of earrings.

All the pundits say the big difference between this gold rally and others is that it is being driven in large part by physical demand from the gold-hungry people in fast-growing places like India and China where gold is a chief store of value. Others point to money supply growth, and fears of inflation and a weaker dollar.

Today Newmont Mining Corp. (Research) -- the world's biggest gold producer -- is reportedly saying gold could hit $1,000 an ounce within five to seven years. Obviously a completely vested interest, so let's all take that with a grain of salt, or a sprinkle of gold dust.

But we can all have fun watching it run, even if you don't have a bullion brick in the basement.

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Kathleen Hays is economics correspondent for CNN. Read more of her columns here.