Antique jewellery can look very stylish and pretty, but have you ever thought of it as a potential investment? In the last few years, people have begun to re-examine what it truly means to make a safe investment. Businesses and individuals have both lost huge sums of money in the current world economy. The whole experience has been a pretty scary one as people have tried to figure out how to protect their wealth and that fear is still present today. Thankfully, antique jewellery offers an investment option that has been around for many, many years.
Right now, the antique jewellery market is pretty hot. Around the world, reports are in and they show there has been a 19% jump in gold jewellery sales and most of these sales have been in the area of antique jewellery. Surprisingly this increase is only expected to continue. With this current economy, what has always been a popular niche market anyway is exploding as buyers rush to get in on it. That leads you to wonder what is so fantastic about antique jewellery.
To understand this you really have to look at the other investment options available. Most people go to a financial institution and open an investing account, the problem is they are completely at the mercy of the market. Today you are wealthy and tomorrow all is lost! Even with safe slow growing investments, you have to worry about losing out because of inflation rates. The irritation continues when you realise the financial institution is taking small bites out of your capital under the guise of ‘fees’. Antiques on the other hand do not offer any of these barriers. You only have to look at the value of gold to know that jewellery generally does not lose value; over time you are practically guaranteed that it will increase – as long as you purchase wisely. A recession usually will not affect an investment in antique jewellery in the long run.
The antique jewellery trend has been helped along a bit by celebrity interest as well. This type of jewellery does not follow fashion trends but celebrities are known to start their own trends. Antique auction houses actually have a fairly long list of celebrity antique collectors including Elton John, Barbara Streisand, Jay Leno and many more. These are the people who are often in the spotlight and when they begin opening their wallets, often the fans follow suit. If you are selling antique jewellery, this means there are plenty of buyers out there looking for your goods.
Name brand is another thing you will want to consider when you are looking for antique jewellery. If you come across pieces by Van Cleef and Arpels, Cartier or Kutchinsky you know right away that they will sell for much more than anything made by an unknown jeweller will. The best thing you can do is to become familiar with the different types of metals, gems and pieces as well as the popular jewellery makers. Do this before you begin investing. An investment advisor can help you begin building an antique jewellery collection and it is a good idea to use their services.
Many people cannot afford to begin with well known brands like those above, however you can still get great pieces by searching for hallmarks which tell the story of who made the piece, the purity of the gold and even where it was created. There are many hallmark guides available on the internet today.
Remember, this is not a get rich overnight investment scheme. You should realistically look at this as a long-term venture – in other words you will be waiting for some time before you see a return on your investment. Other things can affect the popularity of many types of jewellery: This season everyone will be in love with diamonds and next season it is white gold. One great simple rule to follow is to buy the type of jewellery you like. That way you have beautiful jewellery to wear which looks stunning and could be a solid investment that brings you comfortable future returns.