The fact that our industry is afflicted by the current financial crisis was to be expected.
Yet the speed and heftiness of the blow took many by surprise.
In Bangkok, where at this time of the year jewellery manufacturers normally
work around the clock, seven days a week, some companies have already closed shop and gem traders in Asia, Africa
and Latin America bemoan dwindling sales.
What is undoubtedly catastrophic
for the affected companies could, however, turn out to be a chance for all of us serving the consumer market. We of
the ViennaGemCenter are firmly convinced that
the increased buying of coloured gemstones is the right counter strategy at present.
Here is a short roundup of our
reasons:
Many of those fed up by the stock markets and seeking a more secure haven for their assets,
take to buying gold bullions or Kruger Rands. Some, however, take their money to the
jeweller´s.
The term "investement stone" is on many people´s tip of the tongue again. And rightly so
because high end gems excel in stability of value and, with a little bit of luck and stamina, capital gain like no
other commodity.
Now most people think of
diamonds when it comes to gemstone investment because prices are (more or less) controlled and because diamonds are
relatively easy to sell.
Coloured gems, on the other hand, promise to deliver much higher return rates given you buy
them at the right time for the right price and don´t have to sell fast and when in financial distress. The latter
dilemma is, of course, highly detrimental to any sale, no matter what, coloured gems, diamonds or real
estate.
Just think about the prices of Kashmir sapphires and large, high-class Ceylon sapphires thirty years ago or the
prices of pink sapphire, pink and red spinel, Paraïba tourmaline and tanzanite ten to twenty years
ago!
And what, if not now, when producers and suppliers the world over are desperately looking for buyers and
thus are only too willing to negotiate prices, could be a better time?
