Monday, December 3, 2012

 
  Buy Diamonds or Art for Investment?

Unlike many other valuable commodities, you cannot buy diamonds in the form of shares or an ETF fund or as a conventional commodity. It has to be bought as is.

Because you can pack lots of value in a tiny item, the diamond can be highly valuable in an emergency for someone who has to leave his country or salvage assets in a dire emergency. This makes diamonds more convenient than most works of art.  But how does it shape up as an investment?

Not very well, despite smaller size, for a number of reasons. Importantly, quality determination and value require expertise. There is the danger of loss and/or theft. The difference between cost and sales figures can vary greatly because of unestablished markups.

Remember also, diamond supplies have to be controlled for values to be stable on a global level, especially these days when artificial diamonds can be so close to the real thing in appearance and usage. (Remember, always, the basics of general art originality.)


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