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Jewelry Hallmarking
Author:
John Lloyd
To the serious
and single-minded investor Gold, Platinum and Silver jewelry items
are unlikely to come near the top of the potentially profitable
opportunities that he or she will research.
It is
reasonable to propose, that before venturing into this market, a
tremendous amount of investigation should be carried out and
knowledge assimilated that is not relevant to other investment vehicles.
Reliable
contacts and dealers in the jewelry trade must be sought out and cultivated.
Perhaps most
importantly the investor should treat jewelry as an all-consuming
hobby so collecting aesthetically pleasing items that may, or may
not, show a profit will still give pleasure.
This is as
good a reason as any to explain why many savvy female investors take
an interest in this market.
Silver jewelry
as an investment, unless in the specialized antique market, is
unlikely to provide serious investment opportunities unless
sufficient volume can be purchased to produce a profit on the melt
down value of the metal.
Investing in Gold
Jewelry
Gold Jewelry
as an Investment Vehicle.
Points to consider
Gold jewelry
has been around for thousands of years, it has never gone out of
fashion, never dates or fades. As a consequence there is a choice of
two investment paths to take, antique or modern.
Antique
jewelry with or without gemstones follows the pattern of other
antique items in so far as age is not by any means the overriding factor.
There will be
items of 100 years old or more that may not have a scarcity value to
attract buyers into paying a premium over the basic value of the
metal and gemstone content.
Entering this
end of the market will therefore require an additional specialized
knowledge of antiques and hallmarks. This will also apply to the
antique silver jewelry market.
2700 tonnes of
Gold is used annually in manufacturing jewelry.
Gold has a
tendency to wear away over time and decrease in volume and weight
when in use. It can also be subject to scratching resulting in loss
of weight.
It is
important to be familiar with the hallmarks and the symbols denoting
purity. 18K means that the item is 75% pure, 14K = 58.5% pure. 1K is
one twenty fourth part of 100% pure metal.
The balance is
made up of other ingredients to make the item more durable or whiter.
It is believed
that half of all the gold sold in the United States is stamped with a false
Karat
weighting so only deal with established, reliable and registered merchants.
Trust is
paramount; it is easy for jewelers to take advantage of unsuspecting
investors who are not fully versed in the pitfalls of the market.
Investing in
Platinum Jewelry
Platinum
Jewelry as an Investment Vehicle.
Points to Consider.
Unlike Gold,
Platinum has not got a long history of use in jewelry, anything
earlier than 1900 is rare indeed.
Examples of
Edwardian Platinum jewelry, often rings set with gemstones, can be
purchased but beware of modern antique style platinum jewelry.
Studying
antique platinum jewelry will
need less application than studying gold antiques but it is essential
to have a sound knowledge, particularly of the hallmarks, before
entering the market.
Platinum is
over thirty times more rare than Gold.
Approximately
85 tonnes of Platinum is used annually in the manufacture of jewelry.
Most of the
Platinum used in jewelry is between 90% and 95 % pure.
The content is
indicated in parts per thousand and not in Karats as in gold.
The properties
of Platinum allow for more intricate and finer jewelry designs than
possible with Gold.
Platinum is
considerably more durable than Gold and will wear better and last
longer in use.
Platinum is
more resistant to scratching than Gold and if this occurs the metal
is displaced and can be restored by a specialist and not lost, as is
the case with Gold.
Platinum
jewelry has become extremely fashionable and could be considered as
the preferred jewellery of choice amongst the 'glitterati'
In the US
during the II world war Platinum was designated as a strategic metal
and supplies were cut off from the jewelry trade.
Items that can
be guaranteed as sourced from this period will have a considerable
rarity value.
As with Gold,
find a trusted and established dealer before parting with your money.
Bear in mind
that the current value of the metal content of the piece and a view
on the future direction of the price of the metal becomes an
intrinsic factor in determining its' potential as an investment.
Probably the
best known of all diamonds is the Koh-I-Nor.
This gem is
part of the British Crown Jewels and is set in Platinum.
It can be said
that you get more for your money when investing in Platinum.
Palladium,
which is recognized as a Platinum Group Metal (PGM) has overtaken
Platinum in
the amount used in jewelry manufacture.
Both metals
have considerable use in industry, particularly in automobile
manufacturing where they are often interchangeable, so that usage can
become dependant upon any price/supply differences.
When one has a
price or supply advantage over the other a buying opportunity may
occur in the jewelry market.
Summary
Investing in
precious metal jewelry is to enter a highly specialized market with
many hazards for the unwary and ill equipped.
Trust and
integrity are priorities when buying or selling through a dealer in
the market place.
There is no
substitute for intensive research into all aspects, not only in the
jewelry application, of the metal under consideration as an investment.
As an
investment guru once said, " If in doubt, stay out". |
