Sparkling and alluring – precious stones have been valued at all times. Any representative of the fair sex will be happy to receive a gift in the form of a ring or necklace with diamonds, because it’s not for nothing that they are called a girl’s best friend. In times of crisis, people rush to protect their savings, and investing in precious stones comes to mind.

However, is it worth it for investors to be friends with them, and when is it better to invest money in jewelry? This question requires a more detailed consideration.

If you decide to invest in “eternal values” in the form or stones, be prepared for the fact that this is a long-term investment. It is unlikely to be possible to purchase and then quickly sell and make a profit. At a minimum, it will take several years to return the investment and also make money on it.

Types of Jewelry Investments

You can invest money in stones in different ways:

• Purchase finished products with precious stones;
• Invest in certified stones;
• Invest in securities linked to the price of stones.

Buying jewelry

Buying ready-made jewelry has its pros and cons. The advantage is that such products can be worn. But if you consider them solely as a means of investment, ready-made products in this regard are far from the best option. After all, when purchasing such jewelry, you pay not only for the stones, but also for the work of the jewelers, and all kinds of other extra charges. And it is not a fact that after some time, if necessary, you will be able to find a buyer and return the invested funds.

One option for this type of investment is purchasing antique jewelry. Their cost primarily depends on the fame of the artist who created the jewelry.

Buying stones with a certificate

Unmounted gemstones are a very profitable investment. They have undergone a thorough examination in independent laboratories and in the accompanying certificate you will find complete information about the stone, down to the slightest crack and chip.

It is best to buy certified stones from well-established dealers. The ideal option is if you know jewelers, then the purchased stone can be beautifully set and later sold for much more in the form of jewelry. Thus, your investment in diamonds or other stones can bring significant profits, sometimes even more than 50% of the initial investment.

Specialized calculators will help you calculate the cost of unmounted stones. You can find them on websites dedicated to the jewelry business.

Buying shares related to the price of jewelry

There are specialized exchanges, particularly in Israel and the Netherlands, that deal exclusively with jewelry trading. Diamonds are held in special esteem on such exchanges. However, an ordinary person is unlikely to be able to gain access to trading and track quotes - only the so-called diamantaires have access to all information and trading operations.

When to Invest in Diamonds and Other Jewelry

As a rule, the price of stones decreases significantly in times of crisis, and therefore it is worth investing in jewelry during these periods. After all, then, when the economic situation stabilizes, people will once again have an irresistible craving for luxury goods and you will be able to make a significant profit on your investment.

Benefits of investing in gemstones

The main advantage of this type of investment is reliability. Precious stones are not subject to sharp fluctuations in exchange rates. Their prices are constantly rising, with an average increase of about 10% per year. And if there are minor declines, they are then compensated by a significant increase in the cost of stones.

The main thing is to choose the right time for this kind of investment, then the profit will be significant. After all, the cheaper you manage to purchase stones, the more expensive they can be sold later.

As for jewelry, even if you do not manage to sell it profitably, this kind of purchase can always be left in the family as heirloom jewelry and then passed on to descendants.

Disadvantages of "precious" investments

Like every type of investment, there are also disadvantages that make investing in jewelry unattractive to many potential investors.

• Availability of large sums of money for such investments.
• Long wait for profit from investments.
• There is not always a guarantee that a buyer will be found in the future.

In addition, when buying stones, you should be especially careful, because the risk of running into a fake is great. Today, it is quite common to find synthetic diamonds on the market, which can only be identified through a thorough examination.

Where to sell stones

When investing in jewelry, the logical question is where to sell the stones. There are several options:

• jewelry stores;
• pawnshops;
• jewelers - collectors;
• specialized auctions.

The first two options should be used only as a last resort, since in this situation you will be able to get mere pennies for jewelry compared to their real value. But access to gem auctions or meeting jewelry collectors promises considerable benefits.

Save

Gems are a high-risk, high-return investment. Hence, one needs to be careful before investing in expensive gemstones. Here are some pros and cons of investing in gemstones to help you make the right decision. Gemstones that have less value are valued more over a period of time. Therefore, you should invest in gemstones that are not too expensive, as it will be easier to find a buyer for them in the market. Many people invest in gemstones as they are high-yield investments. The price, especially for gemstones, can be very high, thus allowing you to make a decent profit.
Moreover, these investments tend to be stable in nature and hence are the preferred choice for many investors. However, there are certain risks. For example, there may be a devaluation in the value of gemstones if they are not crafted properly.

Also, it can be difficult to distinguish genuine gemstones from fake ones unless you engage a trusted gemologist. Hence, there is an urgent need that you should be aware of the risks and benefits of investing in gemstones. Here is a list of the pros and cons of investing in gemstones.

pros

No price fluctuations
Gems are not subject to extreme volatility and price fluctuations like stocks. Therefore, when you buy a gemstone, you will not have to worry about the price going down.

Increase in cost
You have the option of cutting the stone into smaller versions or using it to make jewelry. You can also polish the stone. All this will lead to an increase in the value of your assets.

High stability
Regardless of market conditions, the demand for gemstones never decreases, making it a viable investment. Therefore, if you want to invest in something that will grow steadily, such as gold, gemstones may be your investment option.

Portability
You can carry stones in your pocket. Gems are highly portable and you don't have to worry about safety as you would when transporting gold bars from one place to another.

Immunity to the economy
It is often said that gemstones are one such investment whose price continues to rise regardless of economic conditions around the world.

Durability
Gemstones are relatively durable and will not change easily over time. They also do not crack and are not easily scratched. They are not susceptible to climatic conditions or exposure to air, like silver.

Minuses

Knowledge required
You must have knowledge about gemstones before investing in them. This happens because you don't just blindly believe someone who tells you the value of a stone. You will have to figure this out for yourself to avoid undervaluing or overvaluing gemstones when selling them before you buy them.

Safety is an important issue
You can't just pick up gems from one store to another to sell them. Just imagine if someone is watching you closely and can steal them from you, then you may end up with absolutely zero value.

Long-term investments
You will have to hold gems as a long-term investment so that you can sell them at the right time. Therefore, if you have a cash emergency, unlike stocks or gold, you will not be able to get the right price if you plan to sell the gems urgently.

Chances of Fraud
Many gemstone sellers, when selling to interested buyers, may sell low-quality or fake gemstones and mark up the price for the same. This makes investing in gemstones a risky proposition.

Low liquidity
It is very difficult to find buyers for precious stones since they are not traded like gold or diamonds. Also, they do not have an international market. Consequently, they have very low liquidity.

Difficulty of storage
Since gemstones are tangible assets, you will have to make sure that you store them in a safe place or a safe deposit box. If you store them in your home, you may lose your gemstones in case of theft or robbery.

Damage
If the stones are polished and well-cut, they can sell for better prices than their untreated versions. However, the issue with gemstones is that they can splinter and break into pieces during the grinding or cutting process. Hence, they are more risky to break the stone.

Devaluation
If the stone is cut in an unprofessional manner, you may lose on its value. Poor treatment of a gemstone can cause its value to decrease and you will end up losing money.

If you want to treat the stone, there will be additional costs. Ensuring investment returns coincide with the expenses you undertake for the gemstone. You should always buy gemstones from reputable manufacturers. It is recommended that you have the gemstones and their values ​​checked by at least two or more professional gemstone appraisers who can evaluate them. Now that you know the pros and cons of investing in gemstones, make sure you make the right investment decision.

Our verdict: Instead of investing in other natural stones, it is better to invest in gold or diamonds as they offer less hassle to the buyer.

To start investing in precious stones, the first step is to make sure that the potential investor has a sufficient amount of funds, which may fall out of circulation for many years. In fact, this method of making a profit is more suitable for those categories of people who tend to preserve what they already have rather than significantly increase it. And yet, if you tackle the problem in really detail, devote a lot of effort, money, opportunities and effort to it, then there will be an excellent opportunity to receive a very substantial income.

Short story

Throughout its history, humanity has preferred investments in precious stones and gold to all other types of making a profit or storing funds. And if with precious metal everything is more or less clear, since it was quite capable of being used as an independent payment unit, then with stones everything is much more complicated. It was necessary to understand the issue in detail, to know the right people who could “convert” them into money, and so on.

However, almost nothing has changed since then. Still, it is precious stones, along with gold and others, that remain the most secure investment. At the same time, you can always find more profitable options for investing your own funds in the short term. But they are also much riskier. And not always, in the end, such investment options will be able to provide as much profit as could be obtained from working with jewelry.

Long term

A person who wants to store money in this way must be prepared for the fact that he will not receive the actual profit from his investment in precious stones very soon. Most often, years pass, and in some cases only the heirs will be able to fully dispose of the income. That is, this is a very long-term investment. In many cases, during certain periods, the price of jewelry and items made from them may fall, and very significantly. If you have free money, it is recommended to immediately purchase such a product while its price is low.

In the entire history of mankind, there has never been a time when such a crisis period lasted too long. Ultimately, the cost of products begins to rise steadily and more or less stabilizes at a level that significantly exceeds the one at which the fall began. And it is precisely during this period of time that it is necessary to sell jewelry if there is a desire to make a profit. But do not forget that years will pass, and the price will again first fall and then rise again. And the circle will begin again. That is, the longer jewelry is stored, the more expensive it becomes.

Experience and knowledge

Another important factor is special education. A beginner can very easily and simply be deceived or simply stop working with him if it turns out that the person does not understand the issue. The science of investing in gemstones is very complex. And despite the statements of numerous educational institutions of various types and other persons offering to teach this type of investment, in fact only a person who has been dealing with this issue for a long time and wants to convey real knowledge and not confuse a beginner can do this.

That is why the number of people who actually make money from jewelry is very small, and they accept new people into their “group” with great difficulty.

Difficulty of turnover

The next very important question is: what to do next with these goods? Storing money in gemstones is very easy. They take up little space, are easy to hide and difficult to find. But when the need for money appears, the question immediately arises: where to sell these stones? Most often they prefer to buy ready-made products. It is almost impossible to sell the material itself for such products without knowledge of the specifics, features and people who do this. But even with the necessary knowledge, it is very difficult to do this quickly.

Investing in precious stones requires a lot of patience, attention and accuracy. It is important to understand not only where to buy them at a good price, but also where, when and how to sell them, so as not to be deceived or receive less than the market price.

Fraud

Like any other business, there are also scammers. Investments in precious stones are closely related to very big money, and there will always be someone who decides to deceive, betray, frame, and so on. For example, they may simply not give the correct price. Or they may steal jewelry or value it much lower than the market value. There are many schemes for fraud, and most of them are so cunning that a person will not identify the deceiver until it is too late.

Often, such scammers can work quite honestly and conscientiously with people experienced in this field, but when they sense a newcomer, they will at least try to deceive him.

Investing in Gems: Pros and Cons

If we briefly talk about everything mentioned above, we can clearly highlight the main positive and negative aspects of storing funds in this way. So, the advantages are definitely a fairly large profit, stability, the ability to save money, compactness of products, and so on. But the disadvantages clearly include the uncertain long-term investment, the difficulty of obtaining the necessary experience, skills and basic business concepts. Investing in gemstones is inextricably linked with ongoing costs, the need for training, the importance of networking, and so on. Of course, if it works out, then all expenses will eventually be more than compensated for. But you can’t stop halfway, otherwise instead of the expected profit there will only be continuous losses.

Judging by statistical data, the turnover of such goods is steadily growing from year to year. And, quite naturally, prices are rising. But according to the same statistics, sooner or later a recession will begin, at the peak of which you need to start buying jewelry.

Results

Summarizing all of the above, we can come to the conclusion that investing in precious stones is a real and very profitable financial instrument that is theoretically available to everyone. At the same time, this method of generating income and storing funds requires extensive practice, skills and experience. You need to meet useful people. You need a lot of money to start and so on. That is, the business is real, but so complex that not everyone can reach the end and make a profit.

It is believed that this type of investment is most often chosen by conservative people who are not chasing quick money, but are able to think several steps ahead.

Indeed, investments will not pay off immediately, and you will not always be able to earn a lot, there are a couple of reasons for this. The situation of the Russian market still leaves much to be desired, so you should invest your capital in diamonds only if everything is carefully thought out.

According to current legislation, only unjustified jewelry with certificates is allowed to be sold. No certificates are needed to purchase jewelry. The most profitable investments with a high level of reliability are large diamonds.

A little about the features of such investments

The cost of gems depends on their size and cut. For some of them they ask for about a couple of million rubles and this is not the limit. To estimate the approximate cost of a stone, we are guided by the following criteria:

1. color;
2. number of carats;
3. purity;
4. cut.

In terms of investment, diamonds of 10 carats and above will be the most profitable. But a simple worker is unlikely to be able to acquire such a stone, so we can confidently say that investing in precious stones is an expensive pleasure and you will need a very large capital to get started.

The company sells large diamonds to their VIP clients, who are ready to invest millions of dollars in them. A simple investor can easily buy a one-carat stone; it is an affordable investment that requires relatively little cash.

As for the place of purchase, it is best to purchase diamonds directly from cutters or from specialized companies that mine them. It is advisable that it be appraised by an experienced jeweler before this, since an ordinary person will not be able to give a correct assessment of the gemstone.

Investment options

There are several ways to invest in jewelry:

1. purchase certified stones (diamonds, rubies, emeralds, etc.);
2. purchase jewelry with precious stones;
3. buy securities whose value is tied to the price of precious stones.

The easiest way is to buy precious stones; their value may change a little over the course of a couple, but smoothly, which will save your nerves. Rubies or emeralds are of course good, but an “investment stone” should be rarer and cost from 3 thousand dollars.

Sapphires, tsavorites, demantoids - their price has increased almost 20 times in recent years. You can store them for decades without fear of inflation or crisis. Their appearance also does not deteriorate, but there are nuances here too. Some stones are afraid of light, others are afraid of dry air, and so on, so you will need to familiarize yourself with the nuances of storage very carefully and strictly follow them.

Professional traders recommend that you do not invest in gemstones without at least a minimum of experience, unless you are a jeweler. The best option is to purchase at one price and sell at a slightly higher price, as is done with the sale of currency (taking into account quotes).

When choosing a stone for investment, you need to pay attention to its compliance with the following criteria:

• its average price is no less than 3 thousand dollars;
• the optimal weight is from 2 carats for diamonds (no less than 1) and up to 10 carats for sapphires and emeralds.

The uniqueness of a stone is another parameter that affects its cost in addition to the factors described above. Next you will have to face the difficult process of selling the stone. Pawn shops will only buy it for half the price, but it’s hard to get to auction.

Risks of investing money in precious stones

There are some aspects here that can significantly complicate the process of investing your money in precious stones:

1. The demand for them is limited, since there are few consumers. Therefore, it is likely that you will have to wait for a buyer for years, and then close the deal in just a couple of minutes;
2. The risks of purchasing a fake are the worst. Sometimes you can run into such a skillful fake that even an experienced specialist will have difficulty distinguishing it from a jewelry of natural origin;
3. there is a possibility of unsuccessful processing, during which the stone will simply crack. So you need to be prepared for the fact that you can lose more than half the cost of the stone;
4. the price of stones depends on expert assessment, which is subjective. Therefore, to get reliable information about the price, you need to see the opinion of several experts.

How to sell and make money?

There are several options for selling diamonds:

• jewelry stores;
• pawnshops;
• at auctions;
• jewelers and collectors.

You need to understand that jewelry without a frame cannot be sold, except for those for which there is a special certificate. When selling, not only the specificity of the stone and the number of carats are taken into account, but also the cost of the setting and the artistic value of such a product. Fashion trends are of no small importance.

It happens that the price of a product with a precious stone will decrease due to the outdated design of the product with it. Or stone defects are found under the frame. Therefore, it will not be possible to get the real cost, at most - pennies.

In times of crisis, the value of jewelry decreases, so experts advise making investments at such moments. Then the situation usually returns to normal, people have money again, which means that good profits can come from investments.

Total

Investing in diamonds is not a bank deposit and there are no guarantees. To get even to zero from the minuses, you will have to wait 5 years, no less. Fraud is rampant in this area like nowhere else, so it is better not to be persuaded by certain investment funds that supposedly guarantee the redemption of your product at a certain moment.

You will need to invest at least 3-5 thousand dollars in one pebble, so this investment will require a substantial initial capital.

It is known that the most favorable period for acquiring and accumulating various jewelry is post-crisis years. Because, despite the fact that precious things do not depreciate at all, their value during this period becomes significantly lower than in normal times. And, of course, after the “revival” of the economy, prices rise again and, accordingly, they can be sold at a much higher price.

Today, the most optimal and promising investment in jewelry is the purchase of precious stones: sooner or later they will definitely rise in price and they can be sold for a fairly good profit. The only disadvantage of such “precious” investments is the time spent. The value of stones increases quite slowly. Therefore, it may take a week, a month, a year or even several years before they reach the “right weight” for sale.

Theoretically, you can become rich by selling precious stones in just a couple of years, buying them at a very low price and selling them at a high cost. The most important thing and, perhaps, the most difficult thing is to catch exactly the right moment to invest.

Types of investing in precious stones can be divided into three types:
1) purchase of various jewelry inlaid with precious stones;
2) purchase of certified precious stones;
3) purchase of securities, the value of which is “related” to the value of precious stones.

As in any business, when purchasing jewelry, keep in mind that there are pitfalls here that novice investors, and sometimes even “seasoned wolves”, can stumble over: you will not be able to recoup too expensive stones if you do not find a buyer with too much money. In this case, you will have to either sell them at a very “fallen” value, or leave them to your descendants.

Finding a reputable private buyer for a piece of jewelry that has no artistic or historical value is quite difficult. Because it is easier and cheaper to purchase the desired product in a jewelry store, where they will give a 100% guarantee of the authenticity of the stones, than to purchase it from you.

If you still fail to sell your jewelry to a true connoisseur, you can always take the item to a specialized store or pawnshop, however, they will offer you mere pennies for your stones.

Another type of “precious” business is the purchase of a certified product. Moreover, you can purchase either a single precious stone or a set of several jewelry and stones at a cost significantly lower than in the store. Taking into account the modern age of Internet technologies, now, in order to find out the price of a certain product (stone), you just need to go to a precious stones exchange or a specialized website, open a calculator and enter the data. In a few moments you will know the approximate price of the stone. True, you won’t be able to track diamond quotes on the stock exchange. This information is available only to brokers (“diamantaires”) who compare prices with a special “Rapaport” index.

What conclusion can be drawn from all this? It is possible to invest in jewelry, but you must have certain skills, have an excellent understanding and understanding of stones and valuable products, as well as constantly monitor the situation on the world market and be in the trend of events.