The wisdom of Investing in Antique Jewelry.
#6786 Natural Pearl and diamond bracelet. 
A few years ago, the stock and real-estate markets plummeted and there was tremendous insecurity all around in the economic world. I was sure this financial instability sounded the end of my little world of antique jewelry. However, the opposite happened.
#4787 Pots of gold and diamonds. 
I wrote articles about the economic safety of investing in antique jewelry, but every time, the statistics outdid themselves and facts on the ground changed and changed and changed. There were some constants and there were some 'winners and losers'.
Most forms of investment go in cycles. Most, but not all. Real estate, stocks and shares, go up and down. I used to sell general antiques - most of them fell in value about a decade ago and they never came back. Boring, mass produced jewelry is soft and barely worth the scrap value of the metal and gems. So what is up? Antique jewelry, ever since I've been selling it is increasingly difficult to find. The value of good pieces just goes up.
There is one thing that cannot be produced by clever copy-cats in the Far East: antique jewelry. There are more people collecting and less items available. Supply and demand; rarity. It makes sense from this perspective alone.
There are those who look at the intrinsic value of the materials that went into making jewelry. How much does the gold weigh, how many carats of diamonds are there? I have seen the value of gold go from $400 an ounce to well over $2500 an ounce. It is not the only thing on the rise. To some of us, this is secondary. The aesthetic appeal is what counts to us. The excitement of finding a genuine little work of art is what gets our hearts pounding.
#6755 Amethyst and diamond set. 
If we look at old catalogues and prices realised, if we follow the antique jewelry market, we can see that by and large there is only one direction and that is up.
Over 2 decades of selling antiques has shown me that for most things there are cycles. Ups and downs. However, antique jewelry has been one-way, there has been a constant up.
Who are the losers? One of the current big losers is the diamond market. It is soft. For over a century, cabals - powers in the diamond world artificially maintained the high/exhorbitant value of diamonds. We were led to believe that diamonds are rare and therefore valuable. In fact, diamonds are far from the rarest of gems.
A powerful role in the decreased value of diamonds, was played by the advanced technology of producing real diamonds in a laboratory. It got cheaper and cheaper until today, the value of these diamonds is a fraction of old prices. Not only that, but the value is dropping as people realise that there is almost zero re-sale value in these lab-grown diamonds.
While natural diamonds are different, they have been badly hit by the lab-grown phenomenon. Coupled with De Beers losing its hold over the market, the prices and demands have softened tremendously. The diamond world is a-shaking..
Personally, I would advise caution before investing in diamonds.
#7305 Columbian emerald & diamond earrrings.
This loss of value does not affect every gem. Colored diamonds are increasing in value because they are so rare. Colored gemstones, such as emeralds, sapphires and rubies are increasingly in demand, especially the best stones such as Kashmir sapphires, Columbian emeralds or pigeon-blood rubies from Myanmar. Especially when they have a certificate from a renowned laboratory. Maybe best of all are natural pearls. These are pearls formed without the intervention of people. Pearls that formed before we polluted all of the seas and oceans. They can no longer be made as we have ruined conditions for their growth. They have gone up in value and there ain't gonna be more of them until human beings clean up our act (probably never).
#7260 ruby ring with certificate. 
Other gems of lesser value than the above are also doing well: demantoid garnets - just find them!; turquoise and coral - two items that are slowly approaching extinction; even good quality garnets and citrines can command surprisingly high prices. The emphasis here is on 'good quality'. You can barely give away the ordinaire.
Once again, there is an advantage to buying antique jewelry: the stones were made by nature hundreds of years ago and unless swopped out, they are genuine, irreplaceables.
Prophesies of doom and gloom abound and hope glimmers valiantly - downs and ups do exist. However, there are constants: the emotion attached to antique and vintage jewelry. We fall in love with a ring or brooch. We love to adorn ourselves and nothing compliments us like a beautiful jewel. Maybe a pair of earrings that catches the tone of blue in our eyes. Many of us see the astonishing art and craftsmanship that went into making antique jewelry in an age when craftsmen took great pride in their work and were not focused entirely on making another dollar.
What is not going up is jewelry that I call 'stuff'. Not terribly old; often machine made; often mass-produced; Done with the dollar in mind. This is the vast majority of jewelry available and not to be confused with good antique jewels. Like comparing fish and fowl. Focus on 'good'.
In a constantly changing and challenging world, where the traditional markets are unreliable at best, what remains is the other-worldly appeal of antique and vintage jewelry. How lucky that these beauties exist to grow in value and to provide us with so much pleasure over the years. Better than bullion in the bank.
#5881 Natural Pearl necklace. 
Questions and comments: Please email antiques@brendaginsberg.com
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