Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Lambrecht’s Jewelers, 130-years-old and counting
    Celebrate with Gold®
    Tracing Diamond’s Origin
    Pickens, Inc.: Steady pace wins the race
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    Stuller introduces several new offerings at JCK Las Vegas
    JSA reports crimes against U.S. jewelry firms in 2021 exceeded pre-Covid levels
    GCAL partners with VDB to add 8X® Cut Grade search filter
    Registration opens for HardRock Summit 2022
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    The Retailer’s Perspective: With great power comes great fails
    The Retailer’s Perspective
    The Story Behind the Stone: Yearning for Kazakhstan
    10 Cybersecurity Questions small and medium businesses should ask in 2022
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part III
    Kate’s star-studded style. What will the next trend be?
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part II
    Retailing in a post-PC world
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Communication
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Lambrecht’s Jewelers, 130-years-old and counting
    Celebrate with Gold®
    Tracing Diamond’s Origin
    Pickens, Inc.: Steady pace wins the race
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    Stuller introduces several new offerings at JCK Las Vegas
    JSA reports crimes against U.S. jewelry firms in 2021 exceeded pre-Covid levels
    GCAL partners with VDB to add 8X® Cut Grade search filter
    Registration opens for HardRock Summit 2022
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    The Retailer’s Perspective: With great power comes great fails
    The Retailer’s Perspective
    The Story Behind the Stone: Yearning for Kazakhstan
    10 Cybersecurity Questions small and medium businesses should ask in 2022
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part III
    Kate’s star-studded style. What will the next trend be?
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part II
    Retailing in a post-PC world
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Communication
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
No Result
View All Result
Home Columnists

The Joy of Jewels – Gems and jewelry as investments

Mia Katrin by Mia Katrin
November 2, 2014
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Investing wisely in gems and jewelry opens the possibility for long-term preservation of capital while simultaneously reaping the fruits of that wealth – the beauty of society’s finest riches. For yourself and your clients understanding the investment value of jewels is key.

For tens of thousands of years precious jewels and metals have been the economic cornerstone of treasuries of kingdoms, governments and generational family wealth. Rare, portable, and internationally liquid, they are natural commodities. Their beauty makes them intrinsically desirable. According to Ron Ringsrud of Muzo International, “…investors simply recognize the obvious: an investment in beauty is a timeless investment.” (www.emeraldpassion.com)

Mia-morganite-Nov
56.20 carat radiant cut morganite (pink emerald). Courtesy of Chris Hartnett.

Jewels and art represent the cream of a culture. When Tutankhamen’s tomb was discovered in 1922, the sheer opulence of pure gold and rare artifacts including gem-studded regalia dazzled the world. Offering a fascinating glimpse into the glory of that ancient civilization it triggered a world-wide wave of Egyptomania reflected in jewelry of the day from top houses such as Cartier.

Historically the provenance of royalty, a society’s most precious gems have long been fabricated into crown jewels, preserved for posterity through royal lineages. St. Edward the Confessor’s gold crown with 444 precious gems, whose original version was first worn in 1065, was used in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Crowns and regalia have even signified divinity. The coronation ceremony itself symbolically invests the monarch with royal, even divine, power according to the theory of divine right of kings.

In India traditionally the wealth of a family was preserved in 24 karat gold fashioned into jewelry worn by the women of the family. Periodically the gold could be melted and shaped into new designs but the pure gold remains as asset.

Today estate and designer jewelry especially can maintain or increase in value over time. Here as with art, provenance can significantly affect value. A triple strand of faux pearls worn by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis recently sold at Sotheby’s for over $200,000, the value added due to celebrity provenance. Through the influence of branding, designer jewelry adds value.

“Diamonds are forever,” the successful 20th century DeBeers marketing campaign – it has been dubbed the most successful advertising campaign of the century – was effective in mainstreaming the custom of the diamond engagement ring, not previously standard. In 1939 only 10% of engagement rings had diamonds. By 1990 it was 80%. The demand for diamond bridal as well as fashion jewelry and investment grade diamonds remains strong.

Mia-emeralds-Nov
Fine Colombian emeralds. Courtesy of Ron Ringsrud.

Gems can be considered as investments. For both novices and seasoned investors, reviewing a few guidelines and caveats is useful. Jay Boyle, Senior Buyer for JTV (Jewelry Television, www.jtv.com), considered the world’s largest purveyor of colored gems, buys millions of dollars of gems yearly. Frequently traveling to buy from the source at exotic mining locales while also presenting gems directly to customers on live TV, his perspective on the colored gem market is unique.

“Gems as an investment are more like art than other classical investments. It takes an expert’s help to resell your gemstone. Gemstones are collectibles and not classical investments. But many collectibles can become a good investment over time.” (Next time: Part II. Understanding Gems as Investments).


Mia Katrin is an award-winning jewelry designer featured in over 70 top stores nationally. She is available for lectures and seminars. To add her Collections or book a lecture: www.jeweljewel.com, 877 539-3569, www.facebook.com/MiaKatrinforJEWELCOUTURELLC.

Mia Katrin

Mia Katrin

Mia Katrin’s new agency TheJewelersMarketer.com, helps propel your sales to the top through social media marketing and ecommerce. Free initial analysis and recommendations. mia@jeweljewel.com. Mia is an award-winning designer featured in over 100 top retail stores nationally. www.jeweljewel.com. She’s an industry spokesperson, a byline columnist, and a regular speaker at major trade events.

Related Posts

The Retailer’s Perspective: With great power comes great fails

The Retailer’s Perspective

June 30, 2022

The Story Behind the Stone: Yearning for Kazakhstan

June 30, 2022

10 Cybersecurity Questions small and medium businesses should ask in 2022

June 27, 2022
Motivating your sales staff

IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part III

June 22, 2022

Latest News

Industry Events

Stuller introduces several new offerings at JCK Las Vegas

July 4, 2022
Other News

JSA reports crimes against U.S. jewelry firms in 2021 exceeded pre-Covid levels

July 4, 2022
On The Move

GCAL partners with VDB to add 8X® Cut Grade search filter

July 4, 2022

Other News

Registration opens for HardRock Summit 2022

NRF says economy is slowing but recession is unlikely in near term

American Gem Society targets negotiation skills for Confluence 2022

Lambrecht’s Jewelers, 130-years-old and counting

Celebrate with Gold®

Tracing Diamond’s Origin

Southern Jewelry News

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.

Additional Information

  • About
  • 2022 Trade Shows
  • Media Kit
  • Contact

Get Social with Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured Articles
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Sponsored Content
  • Latest News
    • What’s New
    • Industry Events
    • Tradeshow News
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Furry Friends
  • Columnists
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.