Jewelry is made to be worn, not to be an investment. What a good piece does keep is its material: solid gold and documented stones. If you are mainly looking for returns, you will find them elsewhere. If you are looking for a piece for decades, look at material, craftsmanship and documentation.
You often hear that jewelry is an investment. Here is what is true about that, and what is not.
Is jewelry a good investment?
As a rule, no. When you resell a piece, you usually get considerably less than the price you paid in the store. That applies to almost all jewelry, whether it holds a laboratory-grown diamond or a mined one.
The reason is simple: the purchase price includes design, manufacturing, retail and service. A buyer, on the other hand, mainly pays for what they can resell themselves. How much that is depends on condition, demand and the dealer.
Are there exceptions?
Yes, but they are rare and a market for specialists. They include exceptional single stones, very rare colors and historical pieces with documented provenance. Buying in that market takes expertise, patience and an independent appraisal. For the jewelry you wear every day, they play no role.
What does a piece of jewelry really keep?
Its material. Solid gold has a value of its own, tied to the gold price. The gold price fluctuates, but it never falls to zero. 14 karat gold (585) contains 58.5 percent fine gold, 18 karat (750) contains 75 percent. Gold-plated jewelry, by contrast, carries only a very thin layer of gold and has hardly any material value.
For the stones, documentation is what counts. A certificate independently records a stone's color, clarity, cut and weight. At ANNARELLE, every lab-grown diamond from 0.5 carat comes with an IGI certificate; natural diamonds from 0.5 carat come with a GIA report. What the individual details mean is explained in The 4 Cs Explained.
How long does a good piece last?
A lifetime, if material and craftsmanship are right and you take care of it. Solid gold does not fade like a coating. A ring that catches the light today can do the same in twenty years. Loss of shine usually comes from skin oil, cream or perfume, and it can be removed. Read how in our care guide.
We give a two-year warranty on material and manufacturing defects; the details are in our warranty terms. And if something needs repair later, we repair it. A piece that gets repaired is one that does not need to be replaced.
What does this mean for your decision?
Buy jewelry because you want to wear it, and spend your budget on what lasts: stone and gold. Not on a logo, not on advertising, not on rent in a prime location. That is the idea behind Smart Luxury.
Lab-grown diamonds fit exactly into this equation. IGI grades them against the same criteria as any diamond. For the same budget, you usually get higher color and clarity grades. For our lab-grown diamonds, that means only color D to F and clarity VS or better, set in 14 or 18 karat solid gold. You will find these pieces in BLANC.
A piece you wear every day and still wear in twenty years is not an investment. It is something better.
Pour toujours.
