Investing in antique jewellery.. am I crazy?

[myyve]

Is this a good idea? Or am I being unreasonable?!

I've always loved the thought of being able to put any spare cash I have, into a queue jewellery. Since being a little girl, I've always loved anything and everything pretty and sparkly, so it makes perfect sense to me!

The only thing is, is it worth it? And where do I begin to look for it? Is there anything I should absolutely avoid??

Pic of my rings below. I'd love to find something that compliments them!

Also, does anybody else have the same 'hobby' if you can call it that?

☺️

Nothing wrong with collecting antique anything but whether anything is an investment is another question entirely! Some pieces will become more valuable, others will not based on trends which can be hard to predict. I'm a sucker for sparkly things too but I don't think of my pieces as investments and nothing really is worth more than the individual components (diamonds and gold basically)

I think it’s logical if you don’t mind the risk that they will be stolen or lost - at least this way you get to enjoy the money rather than it sitting in a bank. However unless you are an expert I would probably think of it not so much as investment as buying something that will have some resale value.

Thanks both! I think it's my mind trying to justify spending money on pretty things 🥲🤣 every so often I walk past the little antique shop in our city and it's got some beautiful eye catching jewellery!!

If you're going to do this, make sure you buy pieces with good quality stones. If there's a good makers name attached to them that is best.

I have a few antique rings and those with poorer quality materials and no famous maker can be picked up for a couple of hundred pounds.

You have two things to think about - the desirability of certain styles or types of jewellery and the market value of precious metals and stones. Both fluctuate.

In the current climate you would do better putting the money in a high interest account, however if you want to go down the jewellery path to be able to enjoy it more, make sure they're insured to the hilt, and be aware that they may only be easily liquidated by going to we-buy-any-stuff type places which will massively lowball you. Its very possible that after insurance and changes in market value that you'd end up with less money than you started with so it really depends on your goal.

If you want long term reliable growth then weight your investments towards savings and just have a few pieces.

Jewellery is tricky, gold and precious metals have value, and diamonds if can be verified and checked will, to a degree. (Lots of small diamonds will rarely have much resale value)

Insurance valuations are the cost it would be to recreate a new like for like replacement. Antique or old jewellery might have a high replacement value because they are complicated to make or use more unusually cut stones etc, but that differs greatly from their resale value.

Another thing to be aware of is the fragility of older jewellery. One shop I know, I think, gives a 3 month guarantee.

As an investment? That depends on a number of factors. ‘Antique jewellery’ is very vague in terms of a description as there’s a world of difference between faberge and something mass produced, for example.

Do your research. Brands, craftsmanship, country of origin, quality of the materials and the materials used, the history of a piece, the era in which is was produced…all have an impact.

I too love antique jewellery and also used to deal in antiques
I would say buy what you love at the best price possible but don’t get too hung up on investment as gold prices can go down as well as up and taste in styles varies
Whilst I’ve never lost money on jewellery I’ve made far more on other things eg a book of vintage patterns for 10p which I sold online for over a £100
Vintage costume jewellery always did well for me as well as perfumes and cosmetics in original packaging