Jewelry as an investment?

[rainrowan]

Hi guys,

I'm wondering if anyone buys their jewelry as investment peices rather than for style or fashion?

I tend to buy primarily what is termed "classic" pieces in gold and gems to be worn for style and fashion for the duration of my lifetime, rather than saved for savekeeping. This means, within my budget, I'd purchase sapphires/diamonds (fashion) in 14K or 18K white gold or platinum (investment). I no longer buy expensive costume jewelry, but I will from time to time choose a CZ stone for fashion and is set into a classic palladium setting.

OTOH, my grandmother and mother purchased pieces during their time as "investments". They did not wear the pieces and I inherited as part of my dowry from my grandmother 22K gold jewelry. A bracelet she paid $50 for in 1960s, would turn a profit of $1000 in today's market. So, as an investment, gold is the way to go, if you are thinking of it as cash security for future generations.

 

[surfergirljen]

Well depending on where you buy it from you are definitely paying a mark up... but designer pieces are so pretty! I wouldn't wear something just because it was gold... half of what makes it pretty is how it is shaped into something gorgeous! I've fallen in love with some VCA pieces and the mother of all "designer mark up debates" on this forum, the Tiffany diamond ring (LOL!) ... but I wouldn't buy it as an investment. To me it's a beautiful object and something I can hand down to my children that will have enormous sentimental value and, yes, will keep quite a bit of it's value if not 100%.

I myself could never ever buy something super expensive (like a porche or a birkin bag) though - because they depreciate the more you use them and definitely do not retain value! A diamond will always have value but I would be horrified carrying a $10K bag that could get ruined with one coffee! That's just me... because I would probably ruin it the week I bought it... and to me a beautiful bag is still just a bag. But then I have the VCA 20 motif MOP necklace and I'm sure the markup on that is huge!! I'm sure some people would think I was crazy, and if I really thought about it I might even feel like I got ripped off... but it's just so pretty that every time I put it on I'm happy! And that's worth something!

I say buy what you love... save up for something special and don't feel badly about paying 2x the price for the Love bracelet if that's what makes your heart sing... it's not just about the materials, it's about design, style, how it makes you feel, and yes, a little bit of bragging rights sometimes too sometimes! It's exclusive and that makes it special... and that's okay I think. I wouldn't go into massive debt to buy one... but as long as you are happy don't let how your parents behaved make you feel guilty about it!

And yes, gold continues to be a good investment - supposedly rare coloured diamonds are an amazing investment right now, so I've heard!

 

[Candice0985]

Well depending on where you buy it from you are definitely paying a mark up... but designer pieces are so pretty! I wouldn't wear something just because it was gold... half of what makes it pretty is how it is shaped into something gorgeous! I've fallen in love with some VCA pieces and the mother of all "designer mark up debates" on this forum, the Tiffany diamond ring (LOL!) ... but I wouldn't buy it as an investment. To me it's a beautiful object and something I can hand down to my children that will have enormous sentimental value and, yes, will keep quite a bit of it's value if not 100%.

I myself could never ever buy something super expensive (like a porche or a birkin bag) though - because they depreciate the more you use them and definitely do not retain value! A diamond will always have value but I would be horrified carrying a $10K bag that could get ruined with one coffee! That's just me... because I would probably ruin it the week I bought it... and to me a beautiful bag is still just a bag. But then I have the VCA 20 motif MOP necklace and I'm sure the markup on that is huge!! I'm sure some people would think I was crazy, and if I really thought about it I might even feel like I got ripped off... but it's just so pretty that every time I put it on I'm happy! And that's worth something!

I say buy what you love... save up for something special and don't feel badly about paying 2x the price for the Love bracelet if that's what makes your heart sing... it's not just about the materials, it's about design, style, how it makes you feel, and yes, a little bit of bragging rights sometimes too sometimes! It's exclusive and that makes it special... and that's okay I think. I wouldn't go into massive debt to buy one... but as long as you are happy don't let how your parents behaved make you feel guilty about it!

And yes, gold continues to be a good investment - supposedly rare coloured diamonds are an amazing investment right now, so I've heard!

speaking of rare coloured diamonds, I saw a teal blue coloured diamond at JCK, it was half a carat and............$200,000.00

 

[Mitzy]

I would not/do not/have not bought jewelry as an investment. Property is probably a better choice, lol, as they don't make it anymore.
That being said, we are having a hard time right now and i have sold off several pieces of gold and diamond earrings, rings, etc. Things I don't wear, things that belonged to my husband's first wife (who passed away, so there was some debate as to what to do with her things, but her taste was VERY different to mine, and no one else in the family wanted these pieces) some earrings that were alone and lonely (ie, I had lost one) and some pieces of my mother's that had no sentimental value. I kept mom's Black Hills Gold watch and cross, although I would never wear them, I just can't part with them, don't know what I will do with them.
Most of them didn't bring a lot of money, but it was enough to help get us by in this difficult time.
I know that this is not what the OP meant, but that's my 2 cents worth.

 

[kohl_mascara]

This thread has elicited some amazing responses!!! Jewelry, I've always felt, was worth the money I pay for more than clothes and bags. Just take a look tombs of Egypt and the remains of lost civilizations - the clothes have rotted away along with the most of the mummified remains of the body but the jewelry pieces are still vibrant and in display at museums! Of course the jewelry pieces and gold statues are pure or close to pure gold, but they've lasted thousands of years. Gold and diamonds come from within land and won't rot away from that which comes from the land, like organic substances (wood, leather, cloth).

Your jewelry pieces, even if they don't retain its original value, at least have the potential of outliving not only your own life but the generations that will come after you. I think the longevity and sentimental value of those pieces are worth more than anything!

 

[OlgaMUA]

Hi guys,

I'm wondering if anyone buys their jewelry as investment peices rather than for style or fashion? I ask bc I often fall for pieces that are not, from what I've been taught growing up, worth the price. Classic example, is the cartier bracelet.

Growing up, my mom, my grandmother and my aunts would buy gold, real gold, mini 24kt gold jewelry and would just get them melted and redesigned as time went on. They would also buy according to weight... the heavier something was the more they'd pay for. So what they were actually buying was the gold itself and not necessarily the jewlery. Growing up in this culture, I can't justify to myself ever buying a peice of jewlery that's so expensive without it being sold gold.

This type of thinking has effected me so much that I can't even bring myself to buy diamonds, knowing that the scarcity factor of diamond is manufactured, even though I LOVE diamonds! Just wondering if anyone else grew up with this mindset and what your jewelry buying style is like?

I grew up with the mindset to an extent, but I don't let it dictate my buying habits. I buy what sparks my interest and catches my eye