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Photo: Graff - High Jewelry can hold its value if one is rich enough to buy (and insure) it. Jewelry is an over-priced luxury item I can appreciate. I like leather bags, shoes, and clothes, but I love jewelry😍. Yet due to the great expense, I'm more of a browser than a buyer. First a dreamer then a realist I like to say! I can't afford the big flawless stones that cost 5 or 6 zeros. They're gorgeous and frankly, the cut, carat, color, and clarity I really want! Suffice it to say, I understand the appeal and the temptation, so I may be the perfect person to answer the question: Is jewelry a waste of money? |
In purely a practical sense, the answer is yes! Absolutely! 100%!! Waste. Of. Money!!! Jewelry is always a luxury item and never (or rarely) an investment. We don't need it, we buy it because we want it, but aside from aesthetics, it really serves no pragmatic purpose.By limiting the supply of diamonds and clever marketing to create high demand {with its famous "A diamond is forever" 1947 slogan), DeBeers, the then monopoly diamond seller, was able to hike up the price of diamonds even though the stones are not rare, but quite common in nature. The high demand and high prices for diamonds are still with us today. Lab-grown diamonds will likely continue to lower their costs in the future.
But it's not just diamonds, the markup on all fine jewelry is significant, however as soon as it leaves the jewelry store, and you own it, the jewelry loses its value. If you try to resale a necklace, bracelet, earrings, or ring, you'll rarely get what you paid for the jewelry. At best, the same jeweler who sold you the piece may offer you its wholesale price. What's more, to recoup a decent percentage of your money, you better be re-selling high-quality jewelry, i.e., flawless stones with substantial, perhaps 18k gold. There's no guarantee you'll walk away with a profit, and certainly not enough of a profit to rebuy the jewelry again. The rare exception is high jewelry (↑top image), as opposed to mid-priced jewelry. There are always high rollers with excessive disposable income looking for top-of-the-line high jewelry. High jewelry (including celebrity-auctioned estate jewelry) is its own niche. Average earners can't afford it.
Reselling expensive watches such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, or Tudor Pelagos can also exceed their original value if kept in like new condition (minus scratches) because enough people with deep pockets like to wear these luxury watch brands.
As it turns out, the skimpy a/k/a dainty or light chains, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings are harder to resale at a profit due to less precious metal, demand, and their averageness. To boot, shoppers of 2nd hand markets expect to score bargains.The true value of jewelry is its beauty along with its sentimental value. A little glitter can complete or add pizzazz to an outfit. Sparkle can make us happy or remind us of the person who gave us a lovely gift out of love ... which is not a waste of money.
I'd never discourage anyone from buying fine jewelry ... a few curated pieces (within your budget) as things of beauty. Adding some flash to your life should make you feel happy. Just don't tell yourself it's an investment.
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It seems to be in human nature that we love to adorn ourselves with beautiful jewellery - whatever we can afford/find/make. I am thinking about ancient pieces, held in royal collections, or found by archaeologists. Working gold or other metals, and using gems or pearls has been around a long time. And of course, used for crowns for thousands of years. Those emeralds are absolutely fabulous - I always had a soft spot for them!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more, Trish!
DeleteUntil the 1990s pearls were so expensvie only the super rich could afford them. In the 1990s techniques improved dramatically and there arose the fresh water pearl industry to make real cultured pearls super affordable. I'm hoping the diamond industry is next with lab grown diamonds (chemically identical to natural grown diamonds) to lower diamond prices. Sapphires, rubies an emeralds are also lab grown, but techniques to make all these precious stones are not advanced enough to make them super affordable yet.
Great Post! You are sharing a wonderful post. Thanks and keep sharing.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the blog, Diana, and thank you for your lovely comment!
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