By Kujata.Beryle 2008-11-16 04:42:53
I'm not a pro or a veteran, but my Goldsmithing is currently 50. I'm on gold ingots from ore until 53^^
I would recommend mining in Movopolous, and desynth moblin mail for gold ingots. Lightning elements spawn there, so your supply of crystals to desynth them with is virtually endless. I guess the real question then is, do you want to spend the time mining? I guess any crafter, unless they buy gil, spends some time or another farming for their materials.
Once you get enough gold ingots, I would synth gold earrings to 57, then rings to 58, desynthing them back to gold ingots, since you can skill up, although not as frequently, when desynthing, if you're under the cap. The beauty of it all is you're only spending money for pickaxes, and possibly a stack of fire/wind crystals here and there. Hope this helps!
Oh, also, I would recommend synthesis support. I started crafting darksteel ingots at 40 (cap 52) from ore I mined myself. Didn't cost me a thing when I broke, but I did 'force' .4 and .3 skill ups with advanced support. Got a stack of darksteel ingots, and my smithing is now 42^^ Good luck!