4 ms·

First Post. I'm just curious how you guys think about a ring made of gold or silver. I remember my parents didn't buy a diamond ring. I know you need to be care

by paul00 12y ago

First Post. I'm just curious how you guys think about a ring made of gold or silver. I remember my parents didn't buy a diamond ring. I know you need to be careful when buying gold and silver too and always have a look at the spot price, but a gold ring would have some resell value right? Another reason not to support the diamond business is how blood diamonds are mined.

bcg1 12y ago
I sold a 14k gold engagement ring once and the jeweler didn't care about the diamonds at all, and only was interested in the melt value of the gold. I still have the diamonds because he was literally going to give $0 for them. Unless they are quite large or a rare color etc, I don't think they have much resale value. At a reputable jeweler however you should be able to get 80% or more of the spot price. The history of diamonds is quite interesting actually: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you-ever-tried-to-sell-a-diamond/304575/ http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you... tl;dr don't buy jewelry as an investment, unless you own a jewelry store
gutnor 12y ago
The markup on a regular piece of gold jewellery is 300 to 500% depending on the brand. Much more if the piece is complex and handmade or very small. That does not make sense to buy it as an investment. 300% is not unusual for a product when you consider everything between the raw material and the finished piece in a shop. For example, even for handmade piece, the jeweller will not start from raw gold, but from sheet or wire. The markup on those, out of the refinery is already 20 to 50% and he has not even started yet. Jewellery has as much use as any other decorative item, buy them as such. You like the craft involved in making it, go to an artist a see him working days on your commissioned( * ) piece for an insane amount of money. You don't care about the craft, just like the look - go for the cheapest possible that look good ( base metal plated, synthetic stones, machine made, ... ) Avoid anything in between IMO, to much of the value there comes from decades of marketing campaigns. If you like them anyway, go to auction ( not ebay, too expensive ) or second hand. ( * ) note that picking a stone and choosing a mount is not a commissioned piece - the jeweler will probably spend less than 1 hour working on your ring, half of that polishing it. It means going to an artist and picking a custom one of a kind design, with the majority of the work done by hand. i.e. Same difference between buying a limited print of a famous painting or go to a painter to have your family painted. Despite being the same price, only one is making an actual artist live.
mavhc 12y ago
Gold is now being mined in rainforests, causing more destruction, in conclusion: don't consume resources you don't need.

by paul00 12y ago

bcg1 12y ago

I sold a 14k gold engagement ring once and the jeweler didn't care about the diamonds at all, and only was interested in the melt value of the gold. I still have the diamonds because he was literally going to give $0 for them. Unless they are quite large or a rare color etc, I don't think they have much resale value. At a reputable jeweler however you should be able to get 80% or more of the spot price. The history of diamonds is quite interesting actually: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you-ever-tried-to-sell-a-diamond/304575/ http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you... tl;dr don't buy jewelry as an investment, unless you own a jewelry store

gutnor 12y ago

The markup on a regular piece of gold jewellery is 300 to 500% depending on the brand. Much more if the piece is complex and handmade or very small. That does not make sense to buy it as an investment. 300% is not unusual for a product when you consider everything between the raw material and the finished piece in a shop. For example, even for handmade piece, the jeweller will not start from raw gold, but from sheet or wire. The markup on those, out of the refinery is already 20 to 50% and he has not even started yet. Jewellery has as much use as any other decorative item, buy them as such. You like the craft involved in making it, go to an artist a see him working days on your commissioned( * ) piece for an insane amount of money. You don't care about the craft, just like the look - go for the cheapest possible that look good ( base metal plated, synthetic stones, machine made, ... ) Avoid anything in between IMO, to much of the value there comes from decades of marketing campaigns. If you like them anyway, go to auction ( not ebay, too expensive ) or second hand. ( * ) note that picking a stone and choosing a mount is not a commissioned piece - the jeweler will probably spend less than 1 hour working on your ring, half of that polishing it. It means going to an artist and picking a custom one of a kind design, with the majority of the work done by hand. i.e. Same difference between buying a limited print of a famous painting or go to a painter to have your family painted. Despite being the same price, only one is making an actual artist live.

mavhc 12y ago

Gold is now being mined in rainforests, causing more destruction, in conclusion: don't consume resources you don't need.