Wearing your fortune

AS GLOBAL financial houses fall and stock markets across the world stumble, investing in assets that constantly appreciate — like jewelry and watches — makes perfect sense.

Since the price and financial returns of jewelry investments rely on several factors (including design and rarity of materials used), jewelry has been one commodity that has been the most stable and longstanding investment of all times.

Zabeth Co, co-founder of Hoseki Jewelry Art, said investing in jewelry is a wise choice since jewelry is not susceptible to the fluctuations that take place in shares of stocks or even the currency market.

— Jonathan L. Cellona

"You really won’t even have to think about what the stock market is doing; you don’t have to pay attention to the Forex (foreign exchange) at all. All you need to do is to keep your jewelry safe," Ms. Co told BusinessWorld in an interview.

Ms. Co said it is also good to invest on jewelry because it can be liquidated easily. "Just look at the many pawnshops around, and you will get a sense of how valuable jewelry can get in times of crisis," she said.

She said pawnshops generally accepts precious metals like gold as well as gemstones. "Once cash is needed, you can simply visit the nearest pawnshop and pawn one small piece of jewelry at a time. That is unlike real estate properties where you need time to look for the best offer. You even sometimes need a broker to do the selling for you," she said.

Accenture Country Managing Director for the Philippines Beth G. Lui said she prefers to invest on jewelry because it is "wearable art."

"You can buy a painting, but you just hang it on your walls," Ms. Lui told BusinessWorld. "With jewelry, you can wear it. It is art, and at the same time, it is a portable investment because you can take it with you anywhere you go," she added.

Businesswoman Rosa Bairan said more than considering the investment potentials of jewelry, one should think of the inherent "sentimental value" that makes jewelry pieces as "priceless investments."

"Sure, you can think of jewelry as something that could appreciate in value over time. But more than that, you collect jewelry so you can pass it on to your children. You save certain pieces because of its sentimental value, like it is the first item you spent your first paycheck on, etc.," she said.

Jewelry designer Knoi Esmane advises those interested in investing in jewelry to begin with simple gold and diamond pieces. "Do not worry about choosing designs. Choose what pleases you. What is important is you get your jewelry pieces from reputable stores to ensure its quality," Mr. Esmane said.

For gold, he said people should consider buying 24-karat gold pieces to ensure better resell value in the future. While it is okay to invest on white gold, he noticed that yellow gold is "far more in demand."

For diamonds, one should look for medium quality diamonds with no visible imperfections or obvious discoloration. "Do not be tempted to buy so-called rare diamonds because they are much more difficult to resell," he said.

Mr. Esmane said a single diamond does not go up in value faster than a pair or a matched set in a three-stone ring. "But a single stone may be more liquid than a collection. A single stone might cost less to set," he explained.

While princess cut diamonds are hot at the moment, Mr. Esmane advises prospective jewelry investors to stick to round brilliant cut diamonds, which are most re-sellable in the long term.

If gold and diamond jewelry sets are too expensive for your investment budget, Mr. Esmane said people can start with silver pieces, and jewelry using precious stones.

Again, he stressed that it is important to buy silver and precious stones from reputable jewelry stores to ensure their quality, and guarantee that they could be resold in the future.

Aside from jewelry, experts also favor investing in fine quality watches. Emerson A. Yao, managing director of Lucerne watches, said that like jewelry, the value of watches has been steady for many years.

"For sure, stocks and bonds are not attractive investments right now, a watch, on the other hand, holds its value. There might be other items that might appreciate more, but what’s good about watches is that you can use it, you can enjoy it, but at the same time it keeps its value, it never goes down," he said. "So far 50 and 100 years in history, watch prices never depreciate. I mean luxury, high-end, well-made watches," he added.

Maxime Ferte, regional director of International Watch Co, Asia-Pacific, said investing in watches is a good alternative investment because it provides "physical appreciation."

"In the collector’s world, you will always find people that appreciate having something physical in their hand rather than just a number in the bank," Mr. Ferte said.

Mr. Yao said those looking for which watches to buy as an investment should consider buying well-known brands.

"Look at the pedigree of the watch brand, the history and the movement. It’s important that the movement should be in-house made, the brand has to have a long history to be assured of continuity year after year," he said. "On top of that, the design, how they adopt to the changing designs and looks," he added.