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The End of Inexpensive Fine Vintage Jewelry

The End of Inexpensive Fine Vintage Jewelry

I have noticed a startling trend in the fine vintage jewelry space.  Good quality antique jewelry is getting harder and harder to find for reasonable prices.  Of course if money is no object, it is still possible to buy superb pieces at outrageous prices.  Alas, few of us find ourselves willing to do that.

As recently as 6 or 7 years ago, I could still walk into an antique or consignment shop and find multiple pieces of fine vintage jewelry in the $300 to $800 range.  These were pieces crafted from solid karat gold and set with high quality gemstones.

Sometimes the stones set in this jewelry would be one of the big four gemstones: rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds.  If this were the case, the gems would often be on the smaller side, generally less than 1/2 carat.  Alternatively, I could find fine vintage jewelry with larger, centerpiece examples of valuable second tier gemstones, like aquamarine, tourmaline or spinel.

In either case, this fine vintage jewelry was eminently investable, as well as strikingly beautiful.  And at only a few hundred dollars per piece, they were also affordable.  Unfortunately, wicked inflation has been hard at work in the antique jewelry market.

At first, it was the pieces set with the larger first tier gemstones that skyrocketed in value.  The diamond jewelry was some of the first to go, not because white diamonds are particularly rare or desirable, but because everyone quickly recognized their value.

The large rubies, emeralds and sapphires were the next to disappear.  Natural rubies, in particular, are very rare stones.  Their relative abundance in 20th century jewelry is actually a quirk of Burmese-Thai geological luck, never to be repeated.

Prices for antique emerald jewelry were not far behind their ruby counterparts.  This is in spite of the fact that substantial new emerald deposits were discovered in Africa in the 1960s and 1970s.  These African sources have now come online, making significant contributions to global emerald supplies.  But demand is still outstripping supply, leading to ever increasing emerald prices.

Even sapphire – the most common of the big three colored gemstones – eventually succumbed to the insatiable demand for inexpensive fine vintage jewelry.  Sapphire prices had been depressed for decades due to the introduction of heat treatment techniques that were perfected in the late 1970s, followed by beryllium diffusion treatments around the year 2000.  But now that the considerable inventories created via these treatment processes are finally exhausted, sapphire jewelry prices are moving inexorably higher.

Price increases for fine vintage jewelry were not limited to pieces set with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires, though.  Next, price inflation spread to good quality second tier gemstones.  These are stones like non-emerald beryl, precious topaz, fancy-colored garnets, peridot, etc.

You used to be able to buy good quality antique jewelry set with these stones for $500 or $600 all day long.  Now it is becoming harder and harder to find them for reasonable prices.

I recently wrote a Spotlight article about an artisan-made modernist pendant that illustrates this point perfectly.  It is crafted from solid karat gold and is set with a variety of low-to-moderate value gemstones.

Yet, the asking price is $849.  And it isn’t a bad price either.  In fact, it is a very good price – so good, in fact, that I think it would make an excellent investment.

If you had looked to purchase this piece on the second-hand market 10 or 15 years ago, I think you could have easily had it for perhaps $400 or $500.  Not anymore, though.  The price has permanently ratcheted upward, and there is every probability it will continue to go up.

In my opinion, the reasonable prices for fine vintage jewelry that we had enjoyed for many decades were a by-product of low precious metal and gemstone prices from the 1980s through the early 2000s.  This mirrored the general collapse in commodity prices over the same period.

For example, in 1980 the price of a flawless, D-color 1 carat diamond peaked at around $60,000 a carat due to rampant inflation fears.  Then the price declined until the late 1990s, when the same stone could be purchased for around $15,000.  Currently, a white diamond of this size and quality would sell for about $20,000.

The price of gold followed a similar path.  After achieving a secular high of around $850 in 1980, the coveted yellow metal then entered a vicious, two decade long bear market.  Its value finally put in a double-bottom of $275 in 1999 and 2001.  Currently, an ounce of gold trades for around $1,300.

Now that the value of jewelry raw materials has risen sharply, an impact on the pricing of existing fine vintage jewelry was inevitable.  It has simply taken more than a decade for old inventory and stale prices to clear from the marketplace.  Now that the overhang is gone, it is clear that the value of fine vintage jewelry will continue to rise for the foreseeable future.

 

Read more thought-provoking Antique Sage gems & jewelry articles here.

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Read in-depth Antique Sage jewelry investment guides here.

Spinel – The Most Desirable Gemstone You’ve Never Heard of

Spinel - The Most Desirable Gemstone You've Never Heard of
Photo Credit (CC 2.0 license): derricojewelry

Let me tell you the story of how I came to fall in love with spinel, the single most underrated gemstone in existence.  Years ago I was visiting a gem dealer in downtown Boston.  I was looking around his display cases when I came across a visually stunning parcel of red gemstones.  When I asked the dealer what variety of jewel these gemilicious fiery red pomegranates were, he said one word: “spinel!”

I asked him how much he wanted for the smoldering red firecrackers.  “Normally, I would ask $200 a carat for the stones” he responded dejectedly.  “But since I can’t move them easily, I’ll sell any of them for $150 a carat.”

Luckily, I was smart enough to realize a great deal when it smacked me in the face.  I carefully looked over the grouping before choosing one of the largest, cleanest, finest specimens.  A vivid, deep cherry-red, 1.01 carat spinel for one and a half C-notes?  Sign me up!

Spinel is a gemstone that almost no one has heard of.  Neither celebrities, nor movie stars nor super models clamor to wear spinel jewelry.  And yet it is one of the most desirable gemstones in the world.

Now, I had been collecting gemstones for many years before my magical encounter at the gem dealer’s shop, so I already knew about spinel.  But I had never gone out of my way to buy any.  They had always seemed distant somehow, like a gemological footnote.

But as I stared at that parcel of nearly flawless, cherry-red stones in front of me, I realized what I had been missing.  You see, red spinel is, chemically speaking, the kissing cousin of ruby.  Ruby is made from the mineral corundum, or aluminum oxide (Al2O3), while spinel is composed of magnesium-aluminum oxide (MgAl2O4).  This means the two gemstones share very similar physical properties.

For example, both gems share nearly identical densities and hardnesses.  Their refractive indices are similar too, resulting in both gems possessing a strong, vitreous luster.  Due to their related chemical compositions, both ruby and spinel are extremely tough gemstones, making them perfect choices for jewelry that is often subjected to hard knocks or shocks, like engagement rings.

In fact, ruby and spinel are so similar to each other that throughout most of human history they were considered the same gemstone!  Two of the most famous gems in the British Crown Jewels, the 170 carat Black Prince’s Ruby and the 361 carat Timur Ruby, are actually spinels.  However, it was not until the mid 19th century that it was definitively determined that these legendary gemstones were not, in fact, rubies at all.

Unfortunately, the realization that ruby and spinel were completely separate gem varieties didn’t do anything good for the reputation of the latter gem.  While ruby spiraled ever higher in terms of value and esteem, spinels came to be viewed, quite unfairly, as inferior imitations.  Even today, a high quality red spinel can be purchased for only a tenth of the price of a similar quality ruby.

 

Natural Red & Flame Spinels for Sale on eBay

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However, the price disparity between ruby and spinel is one of the great injustices of the gem trade.  You see, rubies are incredibly rare, and that rarity is reflected in their price.  It also means that the gem industry has explored every avenue available to artificially “enhance” lower quality rubies in an attempt to increase the supply of salable material.  These treatments include dying, glass-filling, flux-filling and vanilla heat treating.  It is estimated that less than 1% of rubies on the market today are completely natural, with no treatments whatsoever.

Spinels however, do not respond well to the treatments that are commonly used on rubies.  Spinel also has little name recognition in the jewelry trade.  These two facts mean that there is little incentive for the jewelry industry to offer spinels to their customers.

As a result, any (non-synthetic) spinels available in the marketplace today are all-natural, completely untreated stones.  These gorgeous gemstones possess exactly the same color and clarity as when they were originally pulled from the ground as rough gems.  This is a shockingly authentic precious stone in a modern world largely driven by industrial scale manufacturing and synthesis.

Unsurprisingly, spinel comes in a variety of colors, which tend to mirror those available in the corundum family.  Cobalt, or blue spinel, is one of the most valuable types.  Cobalt spinel is named after the element, cobalt, which gives the gem its intense, deep blue color.  Prices for this cobalt-hued super-gem can easily run into the several hundred dollar range per carat.  Very fine examples can exceed $1,000 per carat.

 

Natural Cobalt Blue Spinels for Sale on eBay

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Red spinel, along with its lighter colored pink variants, is another color commonly encountered.  There is also a unique color combination known as flame spinel, where the red is modified by a strong secondary orange hue.  As discussed above, a good quality, pure red spinel can appear amazingly close to a fine ruby, except that it will 1) be completely untreated and 2) sell for a fraction of the price of a ruby.

Red spinels can have prices ranging from around $100 a carat to over $1,000 a carat for the very finest specimens.  In my opinion, red spinel is one of the most undervalued gemstones out there right now.

The third color that I believe merits special mention is purple spinel.  Although purple is a tremendously beautiful gemstone color, it gets no respect in the modern world.  This is puzzling, considering that purple has traditionally been associated with royalty.  In any case, purple spinel is nowhere to be found on today’s cultural or fashion radar, meaning you can pick up intense, richly hued specimens for about $100 a carat (or occasionally even less)!

 

Natural Purple Spinels for Sale on eBay

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There are other colors of spinels available, including greens, yellows and oranges.  But in addition to being rather uncommon, these miscellaneous colors also tend to suffer from strong grayish overtones that render the stones dull and unattractive.  If you are interested in buying a spinel for either jewelry purposes or as an alternative investment, I recommend sticking to the more vibrant blues, reds, pinks, and purples.  Remember, the purer and more intense the color, the more valuable the spinel.  But this rule of thumb only holds as long as the color doesn’t become so dark that it leads to extinction, or black patches in the gem.

I find it amazing that you can pick up these natural, vivid gemstones for such ridiculously low prices.  Right now you can purchase a fine blue, red or purple spinel for the same cost as a single share of Tesla ($351), Netflix ($290), Alibaba ($188) or Goldman Sachs ($268).  Of course, the key difference between the two investments is that a high quality spinel will undoubtedly gain in value over the next decade, while it is quite uncertain if any of the companies I’ve mentioned will still be in business.

 

Read more thought-provoking Antique Sage gem & jewelry articles here.

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Read in-depth Antique Sage investment guides here.


Diaphaneity – The Secret of Fine Gemstones

Diaphaneity - The Secret of Fine Gemstones
Photo Credit (CC 2.0 license): Matthew Hurst

Diamond quality is judged according to four criteria known as the 4 Cs – color, clarity, cut and carat weight.  Colored gemstones are assessed in a very similar way to diamonds, but only using 3 Cs – color, clarity and cut.  However, there is a little known characteristic that sets the very finest gems apart from more pedestrian stones – diaphaneity.

Diaphaneity is difficult to succinctly explain, but is perhaps most analogous to the transparency of a stone.  The very best gemstones, those that exert a magnetic pull on observers, often possess an uncommon ultra-transparency or super-transparency that allows light to travel through the gem completely unimpeded.

Diaphaneity should not be confused with the color or clarity of a gemstone.  It is possible for a colored gem to have a mediocre, washed out color, but still possess an almost inexplicably alluring sparkle driven by its exceptional transparency.  Of course, the most desirable gemstones will combine excellent color with outstanding diaphaneity.

Likewise, a gem can have inclusions or flaws while still retaining diaphaneity.  Perhaps the best example of this phenomenon is the almost mythical blue sapphires originating from Kashmir in Northern India.  These deep, velvety blue stones are characterized by silk – tiny rutile inclusions that are only visible under high magnification.  This silk grants Kashmir sapphires a soft, almost dream-like blue color.  However, the presence of silk does not interfere with the diaphaneity of most Kashmir sapphires.

Diaphaneity is absolutely distinct from both clarity and color.  And it gives gems a presence or depth that is singularly attractive.  There is speculation among gemologists that the super-transparency of diaphaneity occurs when a gem grows unusually slowly, allowing for the creation of an unusually regular crystal lattice.  This results in a gem with almost no distortions on the molecular level.

Diaphaneity has had many different names throughout the long history of the gem trade, including transparency and crystal.  However, the oldest name for diaphaneity is “water”.  The acclaimed 17th century gem dealer to European royalty, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, mentioned gems “of the finest water” in his writings.  However, the term water was used most notably in the diamond trade of the 19th and early 20th century.  In this period, before diamond grading was rigorously standardized, diamonds of the best water were very highly prized.

In a book titled “Gems and Jewels: A Connoisseur’s Guide” the gem trader Benjamin Zucker underscored the importance of diaphaneity in diamonds with this quote:

“Place a Golconda diamond alongside a modern, recently cut D-colour diamond and the purity of the Golconda stone will become evident.”

Located in India, the legendary Golconda diamond mines were the source of many of the world’s most famous diamonds, including the Hope Diamond, the Sancy and the Regent.  Indeed, almost the entire world’s commercial production of diamonds before the mid 18th century originated from the Golconda mines.

The concept of diaphaneity applies to colored stones just as readily as diamonds, though.  Allow me to tell you about my own experience with diaphaneity.  Years ago I went on a gem-hunting expedition to the Jewelers Exchange Building in downtown Boston.  There was one little hole-in-the-wall gem shop that I frequented there.  On this particular day I entered and started looking through the dealer’s inventory, but nothing really appealed to me.

And then something in the corner of the display case caught my eye – a magnificently sparkling stone that simply called out to me.  It was a huge, 4.05 carat, vivid pumpkin orange mandarin garnet from Nigeria.  Now, orange is not normally a color that excites me, but this stone was truly exceptional.

Few people know that garnets aren’t just red, but also come in all colors of the rainbow.  The orange Spessartite variety, widely known as mandarin garnet in the trade, is one of the most coveted.  As an added bonus, garnets are one of the few types of gemstones that are not enhanced via heat, dyes, irradiation, fracture-filling or other methods.  That makes these completely natural stones perfect for engagement rings or other high end jewelry.

I calmly asked the dealer his price for the orange treasure.  “$125 a carat” he responded gruffly.  I quickly did the math in my head – a bit over $500.  I slipped my wallet out of my pocket and slowly counted $506 in cash onto the counter.  “I will take it” I said quietly, trying to suppress the quiver of excitement in my voice.  The dealer agreed and the deal was consummated.

Now the interesting thing about this story is what made this particular mandarin garnet so good.  There were other orange garnets on display right beside the stone I chose.  They were very similar in terms of hue, clarity and size.  In fact, it was probable that all of these mandarin garnets were originally purchased from the same lot.  It is even possible that the material they were cut from originated from the same deposit.  But only one of the stones was special – the one I purchased that displayed superb diaphaneity.

Diaphaneity is a subtle characteristic.  It is also exceedingly uncommon.  The number of stones I have seen with truly good crystal probably amounts to perhaps one or two hundred out of many thousands (or even tens of thousands).  The layperson, particularly one that only frequents chain jewelry stores, will likely never come across a stone that exhibits good, much less great diaphaneity.  But, if you are a serious gemstone or jewelry connoisseur, collector or investor, the crystal of a gem matters.

If you want to learn more about diaphaneity, or gemstones in general, I highly recommend a book titled “Secrets of the Gem Trade” by gemologist Richard W. Wise.  It is packed full of useful information, interesting anecdotes and beautiful color photos.  For years I had been striving to find gems with excellent crystal without knowing exactly what that ephemeral quality was.  But once I read Richard Wise’s book, all the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place.

Every Woman Should Own a Stash of High Quality Jewelry

Every Woman Should Own a Stash of High Quality Jewelry

I read an interesting comment on the internet the other day that really got me thinking.  An anonymous woman remarked that high quality jewelry is now a luxury that many women can no longer afford.  In addition, she observed that fewer women are wearing fine jewelry on a regular basis.  I’ve reproduced her comment here for reference:

“Jewelry is now the great divide between the have and have-nots of the female variety.  I still own some silver jewelry, because it wasn’t worth selling when we needed the money.  I get noticed when I wear it because most women don’t have real jewelry anymore.  Even women who can afford jewelry are not wearing it out anymore, but they still have their wedding and engagement rings.”

Unfortunately, I must agree with this woman’s assessment.  It seems that fewer and fewer women are buying or wearing high quality jewelry anymore.  I think the persistently weak economy is the obvious culprit here.  Sluggish wage growth, coupled with continuously rising housing, food and insurance costs, has squeezed discretionary spending.  High quality jewelry has been one of the many unfortunate victims of this economic trend.

As a result, a lot of budget constrained women have reallocated their precious jewelry dollars from fine jewelry to costume jewelry.  This has been a reasonable reaction to economic pressure because costume jewelry is so much better looking now than it used to be.  As recently as the 1980s and even the early 1990s, costume jewelry was consistently low quality.  It looked cheap and would quickly tarnish or even turn green when exposed to body oils or perspiration.

However, the advent of inexpensive, but alluring, synthetic stones and simulants, coupled with an industry-wide effort to raise the quality of costume jewelry, has made it a much more palatable choice.  This is especially the case when a “real” piece of high quality jewelry might cost several thousand dollars while a similar piece of “fake”, but still attractive, costume jewelry might be just a couple hundred dollars.

The trend toward buying and wearing less high quality jewelry is most noticeable among younger women in their 20s and 30s.  An insightful Pacific Standard article titled “Has Technology Killed the Jewelry Industry?” provocatively lays the blame squarely at the feet of smartphones and other portable technology.

There is certainly an element of truth to this accusation.  Samsung, LG, Sony and Motorola all produce covetable smartphones, tablets and laptops.  However, it is Apple, with its insanely popular trio of the iPhone, iPad and MacBook series, that has had the most success.  In fact, I am of the opinion that Apple isn’t really a technology company at all, but a luxury technology retailer – a vitally important distinction.  Young Millennial women have, as a group, redirected a significant portion of their discretionary spending into these must-have tech gadgets.  Of course, money spent on smartphones or tablets has to come from somewhere.  And that place is often the high quality jewelry budget.

There has also been a tendency for younger generations to spend money on travel, dining, concerts and other “experiential” activities rather than physical goods.  And once spent on an experience, regardless of how compelling, those limited discretionary dollars cannot be spent on high quality jewelry.

Now that I’ve discussed why women aren’t buying as much high quality jewelry anymore, I’d like to explain why every woman should own a stash of fine jewelry.  The first reason is purely economic.  For centuries, high quality jewelry has been considered a store of value – a savings account specifically for women.  This tradition is still strong in some parts of the world.  For instance, owning a sizable stash of high-karat gold jewelry is considered a necessity for any well-to-do Indian, Southeast Asian or Middle Eastern woman.

The reason for jewelry’s persistence over the centuries as a savings vehicle is multi-fold.  Historically, patriarchal laws in many countries prohibited women from officially inheriting property.  High quality jewelry, often received as gifts from family members or spouses, was usually considered to be a woman’s property from a legal standpoint.  If her marriage ended in divorce, a woman could confidently walk away from her former husband knowing her valuable hoard of high quality jewelry was all hers.

While the modern world is much more amenable to female inheritance and ownership of property, there is still a vital investment argument for every woman to own a collection of gemstone-studded, high quality jewelry.  Antique, estate, designer or hand-crafted jewelry, made from karat gold, platinum or sterling silver and set with sparkling precious stones, is the glittering epitome of wealth.  Fine jewelry often has a significant intrinsic value that can range from hundreds of dollars for more modest pieces to millions of dollars for legendary jewels.

But the real value of high quality jewelry is the fact that they are miniature works of art.  As a result, well designed and executed fine jewelry is always worth more than the sum of its parts.  And the stylistic choices available are nearly endless.  The flowing, naturalistic forms of Art Nouveau jewelry are nothing like the jagged shapes and sharp angles of Brutalist jewelry.  There is a style of high quality jewelry that will appeal to every woman.

Perhaps most importantly, nothing highlights the beauty of a woman like fine jewelry.  Whether it is a luscious strand of Tahitian black pearls, a gold cocktail ring set with a glistening blue tourmaline or a pair of simple platinum and diamond stud earrings, high quality jewelry accentuates the best features of a woman in a way no other accessory can.  A woman who wears fine jewelry knows she looks beautiful and, therefore, naturally exudes confidence.  And confidence is priceless.

I understand that many women may not feel comfortable wearing incredibly expensive, high quality jewelry every day.  Less expensive costume or mass-produced silver jewelry works well in these situations.  However, there are certain times in life – weddings, holidays or the occasional night on the town – when a woman just wants to look and feel her best.  For those times, there is no substitute for high quality jewelry.