What is the best kind of jewellery from a value perspective for you? (Opinion thread)

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MagpieInTraining

#1
Hi ladies! Quarantine has me thinking about all the fun jewellery discussions one can do when you have plenty of time on your hands, haha. To preface: I am aware that jewellery is not really a good investment and is more of a beautiful consumption good + to an extent a wearable store of value in a compact space, ie, a diamond worth $10,000 takes up less space than $10,000 in cash.

But I was wondering in your opinion, what is a jewellery investment that to you is the best value for money - is it a luxury (Cartier, VCA) piece that has good resale value? Is it a diamond solitaire that you can pass on to future generations (solitaires will probably not be dated since it can be put into any kind of setting)? Is it a string of pearls which can be worn everyday (especially as one gets older / if it agrees with personal style) so the cost of wear is super low? Is it a plain (high kt) gold piece because it is pinned to the value of the metal?

For me, personally, I think solitaires are a winner - they go with everything and so can be worn nearly every single day and so the cost-per-wear can be brought down, they can be passed on to future generations and don’t run the risk of going out of fashion, and if you’re patient / have a great quality stone / have access to a wholesale market you can get back a vast chunk of your initial outlay. This defines value for me :)

I’d love to see other opinions though!
 
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#2
I'm Indian, and my family and I most of our jewelry at Indian jewelers (with the exception of my engagement ring and wedding band). It's usually 22k gold jewelry, all in intricate designs, with few stones. This, to me, is the best investment for a couple reasons.

1) When you buy sold gold jewelry from an Indian jeweler, you usually don't pay too much much more than the cost of the gold (if you haggle well). Indian labor is cheap, so the mark ups are low. With solid gold jewelry, too, you're not paying for someone to set the stones or cut the stones, so you save labor there.
2) As such, if you're in a pinch and need cash, you can resell gold by the pound and get a good portion of your money back. Obviously, unless you've had the pieces for ages, you won't make 100% of your money back, but that's true even of designer pieces. There are costs of selling, shipping, or consigning that'll eat into your profits.
3) You don't pay for gems or diamonds, which, honestly, don't hold their value at all.

We purchased my engagement ring and our wedding bands at an American jeweler, because we wanted to be able to custom make them from the bottom up and also get engravings. The gold on my engagement ring is a pretty small amount, so it's basically worthless on the resale market. The bands have mostly gold and were much less expensive, so we could sell them for a decent percentage of what we paid. (Although we never will.)
 
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#3
In my country, only 18k gold jewelry has some kind of resale value (by the pound). Gemstones, diamonds, pearls, etc. have no value if you want to sell a piece.
You can get loans with your 18k YELLOW gold jewelry. The gemstones and diamonds in the jewelry don't count.
Designer jewelry is kind of a new thing, and the resale market comes down to a couple of shops in the jewelry district where you can buy used Rolex, Omega, a little Cartier, etc.
 
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#4
The best kind of jewellery from a value perspective for me is the kind I wear most often.

This is why I buy more rings, then earrings followed by other types of jewellery. The reason why I'd buy something new (or new-to-me) is for the design and as a visual statement. Occasionally sentimental attachment or expression of my mood. I notice today I have on a singe, simple faceted onyx ring band and H Chain d'Ancre rg studs as my only jewellery as we've had a death at work and another hospitalisation so not feeling the sparkle today.

For a resale perspective signed antique/vintage are similar to calculating precious metal and/or different stones as the market for all depends on volatile market forces including fashion and scarcity. Much better to buy gold sovereigns or bars for weight or unset stones in that market.
 
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#5
papertiger said:
The best kind of jewellery from a value perspective for me is the kind I wear most often.
Click to expand...

Exactly! For me the value of jewelry is what it is--as a FASHION ACCESSORY. I want my jewelry to be pretty, elevate my outfits and make me feel good wearing it. (In other words, I don't see jewelry's value as an investment to resell and recoup my money or pass on to someone else.)
 
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#9
MagpieInTraining said:
Hi ladies! Quarantine has me thinking about all the fun jewellery discussions one can do when you have plenty of time on your hands, haha. To preface: I am aware that jewellery is not really a good investment and is more of a beautiful consumption good + to an extent a wearable store of value in a compact space, ie, a diamond worth $10,000 takes up less space than $10,000 in cash.

But I was wondering in your opinion, what is a jewellery investment that to you is the best value for money - is it a luxury (Cartier, VCA) piece that has good resale value? Is it a diamond solitaire that you can pass on to future generations (solitaires will probably not be dated since it can be put into any kind of setting)? Is it a string of pearls which can be worn everyday (especially as one gets older / if it agrees with personal style) so the cost of wear is super low? Is it a plain (high kt) gold piece because it is pinned to the value of the metal?

For me, personally, I think solitaires are a winner - they go with everything and so can be worn nearly every single day and so the cost-per-wear can be brought down, they can be passed on to future generations and don’t run the risk of going out of fashion, and if you’re patient / have a great quality stone / have access to a wholesale market you can get back a vast chunk of your initial outlay. This defines value for me :smile:

I’d love to see other opinions though!
Click to expand...

Am I viewing this as a personal investment or as a family investment? Aka, is worth determined by how much the piece is worn, or is it determined by the monetary value?

If I'm thinking solely in terms of monetary value, high karat gold, and as heavy as possible.

Gold can be melted down and recast easily, whereas platinum needs higher heat and it's generally a bit fussier.

The one thing I'd argue with is the ability to get back a decent chunk of your initial outlay. Diamonds are darn hard to sell, unless you are talking about double-digit carat value, very unique colors, or you have a family jeweler who will buy back the thing they sold you to begin with.

The problem is, 1) if it's badly cut, it's worthless, because 2) recutting loses about 1/3 of the weight and 3) have I mentioned that diamonds are damn hard to sell?

Back when gold was shooting through the roof, I had a couple of friends who were trying to unload jewelry. One coworker was furious after she came back from a diamond appraiser. She was trying to sell two old-mine cut diamonds at approximately a quarter each. I looked it up on pricescope and saw that value for similar stats was about $275 for each quarter. She showed me her estimate. $40 for the pair.

I don't know if anyone was actually selling to the company who appraised for her - but if they are, the approximate resale value of a half carat VVSI Old-Mine Cut, F colored diamond is $20.

If diamonds may have value on a cost-per-wear basis, but if you are tired of them, or just want cash - don't look to diamonds.
 
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#10
Vintage Leather said:
Am I viewing this as a personal investment or as a family investment? Aka, is worth determined by how much the piece is worn, or is it determined by the monetary value?

If I'm thinking solely in terms of monetary value, high karat gold, and as heavy as possible.

Gold can be melted down and recast easily, whereas platinum needs higher heat and it's generally a bit fussier.

The one thing I'd argue with is the ability to get back a decent chunk of your initial outlay. Diamonds are darn hard to sell, unless you are talking about double-digit carat value, very unique colors, or you have a family jeweler who will buy back the thing they sold you to begin with.

The problem is, 1) if it's badly cut, it's worthless, because 2) recutting loses about 1/3 of the weight and 3) have I mentioned that diamonds are damn hard to sell?

Back when gold was shooting through the roof, I had a couple of friends who were trying to unload jewelry. One coworker was furious after she came back from a diamond appraiser. She was trying to sell two old-mine cut diamonds at approximately a quarter each. I looked it up on pricescope and saw that value for similar stats was about $275 for each quarter. She showed me her estimate. $40 for the pair.

I don't know if anyone was actually selling to the company who appraised for her - but if they are, the approximate resale value of a half carat VVSI Old-Mine Cut, F colored diamond is $20.

If diamonds may have value on a cost-per-wear basis, but if you are tired of them, or just want cash - don't look to diamonds.
Click to expand...

I was trying to be as vague as possible “value” or “investment” also because I wanted to see how others define those two terms as far as jewellery is concerned :) I don’t see myself ever selling my jewellery because if I get bored of it I just get it remade into something else!

As for your point about not getting back anything but a fraction of the value of the stone - I guess I was thinking about experiences of people I know, but yes - most of this is buy back by the jeweller who sold the piece to you.
 
#11
Right now I'm looking at a piece (Middle Eastern, long chain, worn like a crossbody bag if that makes sense...love the look) that utilizes around 20 gold coins. If there's anything that holds its value it's gold coins I feel. I'll start buying one here and there when I have some extra money lying around so it's not like 6000 bucks all at once.

That said, my grandma gave me a weighty 18K gold necklace when I earned my master's...she had bought it in the 80s while on vacation, and today it would be worth several times what she paid even if I sold it to be melted down! So high karat gold pieces without stones seem to be a good investment too.

Yet I'm about to hit the trigger on an overpriced gimmicky bracelet set with tiny diamonds from the Kiki McDonough Memories collection only because it seems like fun, I've eyed it for a while and it's currently 15% off with free shipping *hangs head in shame*
 
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#12
I just shop for what I like. I avoid white diamonds because I know their value is artificially inflated. Of course, my most valuable pieces are gifts and inherited pieces from family and friends.
 
#13
I’ve got two different kinds of jewelry. The first is the kind of jewelry I buy for myself. This is primarily 18kt gold modern pieces bought as near to melt value as is feasible, and whatever gold or silver vintage pieces I find to be good value. It’s all auction or pawn store stuff and the thrill of the hunt is half the pleasure in it.

Then there is the jewelry I get as gifts. I basically point my husband at Tiffany and say “pick me something you’d like to see me wearing”. It never goes on sale, so I don’t have to stress about overpaying, and the design is consistent enough I know I’ll love what I get. I also know my daughters will be more than happy to have them passed on to them.
 
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