Investing in jewelry
With Valentine’s Day, jewelry stores expect brisk sales. Men are finally getting it into their heads that yes, we women love the roses, the chocolates and the romantic dinners, but jewelry, especially diamonds, will make us do anything they want. (Okay, maybe let them have have their way for just a few days, but after that, we know who’s really the boss, right?)
But why wait for your man to give you jewelry when you can also buy them yourself? After all, you’re an independent career woman with a head for making the right financial investments for your family. If you have extra cash, instead of gambling it on say, the stock market, then buy good pieces of gold jewelry or diamonds.
At a jewelry store where customers can buy jewelry per gram, for example, you can purchase beautiful pieces. What’s more, lay-away plans are now fairly common among established jewelry stores, and clients can make monthly installment payments for a fixed period before bringing home their new babies.
Make no mistake though, investing in jewelry is a long-term process. You can only get your returns after a few years or so. So you shouldn’t invest your entire savings in them. If you’re fairly liquid and you have extra cash you don’t know where to put it in aside from the bank, then you can invest it in jewelry. Most mothers invest in jewelry not just for themselves, but also for their children. It is just a nice idea to turn over beautiful pieces to your grownup daughter when she turns 18 or keep the pieces as part of their inheritance.
So if you think you can hock your gold jewelry or diamond pendant in a pawnshop for a fair price when you’re a little short on cash, you are sadly mistaken. When you’re in a rush to sell your jewelry, you will hardly get their full value. If you have to pawn them, you will only get 2/3 of the price. But if you sell it at the market place, you will get its full value. Jewelry is a worthwhile investment because it will never go out of style. It will never get old. Just clean it, take care of it, and of course, don’t lose it.
Know your gems. Diamonds, for example, have risen by 70% in value from 1980-1990. After the 1990s, prices have stabilized, rising about 5-10% every year. The reason these babies command high prices is because real diamonds are natural products of the earth and are only mined in certain places, mostly South Africa. What’s mor, the trade is controlled by De Beers marketing campaign (”A diamond is forever”), the high demand is expected to continue.
Among diamonds, the most expensive Cut would be the “round brilliant” simply because it’s quite difficult to make. There’s a lot of wastage when they chisel it without damaging the main stone. The way the light travels around it makes it the most brilliant of all the cuts. Other common cuts are the princess cuts, which is like a modified square shape, and the heart shape.
Other than the cut, the Carat, or weight of the stone, is an important determinant of the price of a diamond. The higher the carat, the higher its value. Note that a one-carat diamond will still out-price two pieces of 0.5-carat stones.
In terms of Color, the most common are white diamonds, and the whitest of these is the most expensive. The white color has different grades ranging from “D” (whitest) to “P” (brownish). There are black, pink or blue diamonds as well, which are more expensive than white diamonds, because these are very rare.
To determine the Clarity of a diamond, you need an experienced jeweler to check the stone with his magnifying lens, to see whether it has blemishes (nicks or scratches on the surface) or “inclusions” (impurities in the stone). Of course, the more flawless the stone is, meaning there is no signs of impurities inside or blemishes outside, the higher the price it commands.
Aside from the four C’s, the beauty of the design or setting of the diamonds will also determine the price of the jewelry you are buying.
This year, gold prices are expected to dip further because of the surplus in production, which began last year. Gold prices were around $580 per troy by the end of last year and are projected to fall further to $550/oz. As such, this year will probably be the best time to buy gold jewelry. When the market recovers, you can try selling your pieces, although as any jeweler will tell, you will still have to wait a while to get your profit since most buyers rarely plunk down cash for a piece. They prefer to buy jewelry on installment.
Gold jewelry can range from 14K, 18K, 22K, up to 24K. Generally, the higher the karat, the higher the price of the piece, as it speaks to how much gold is actually in the jewelry. (An 18K gold piece is 75% gold and 25% metal alloys.) 22K or 24K gold pieces are 100% gold but are softer or more brittle. Thus, craftsmen can’t put stones on such pieces. For the lower karat pieces, these can be designed or set with diamonds or precious, semi-precious stones, further raising the value of the jewelry.
In the last 15 years or so, there has been a stronger demand for white gold because customers feel it looks more modern, and there are many modern new settings available. It is white because white metal alloys (silver or palladium) are mixed with the gold. White gold is more expensive than yellow gold because it is dipped in an expensive rhodium solution to make it hard. Although rhodium is very white and very hard, it does wear away eventually. So it is recommended that white gold jewelry be re-dipped every 18 to 24 months to maintain its look.
There is an organization called the STS Jewels that is known in the industry of gemstones and jewelry. Their specialty is Tanzanite jewelry. With a manpower of more than 1800 worldwide, STS Jewels has proven that they’re among the best in unparalleled designing, manufacturing, and distribution of jewelry and gemstones. The production teams in New York, Bangkok, India and Hong Kong, consisting of CAD professionals, visualizers, designers, and rapid prototyping machines are working hard to forecast the jewelry and fashion trends on one hand and keep a tab on gemstone finds on another hand. This is to make sure they are able to present a range of new products to their customers.
If you’re looking to become a stakeholder of a most preferred global jewellery company, in line with your desire to invest in jewelry, then STS Jewels is the way to go.