Precious gems are the safest investment options as they are not affected by trends or price fluctuations of other investment commodities, or value of the dollar. However, one has to be a connoisseur in authenticating precious gemstones since their prices do not come cheap, particularly pf the sparkling, multi-faceted diamonds.
They are likewise considered as asset protections since their per carat-value tends to appreciate overtime, rather than diminish the way other investment commodities do if easily affected by economic developments.
Factors that Qualify a Gem as Investment Option
Aside from authenticity, one’s gem stone has to meet certain criteria before he or she can trade her gemstone in the market.
A gemstone has to weigh more than 2 carats at the lest, to qualify as an investment product.
The type of gemstone to be traded has a market value of more than $3000; market value being the price that a willing buyer would pay for an item up for sale in the related market.
As guarantee of a precious gemstone’s soundness in yielding a fairly high value of return over a period of time, the gemstone must have the rarity factor. Mainly because only a few will be able to supply any future demand for the commodity. Aside from diamonds, precious gems like rubies, emeralds and sapphires belong to this category.
The gemstone must be accompanied by a certification of its authenticity as a natural precious stone, as had verified by an independent and reputable gem lab. Only gemstones that have been certified as untainted and treatment-free natural gemstones qualify as investment worthy precious gems.
Are Precious Gemstones Risk-Free Investments?
Although gemstones are regarded as safe investments, they are not totally risk-free options. As it is, the pandemic had affected and continues to affect the global economy. Such a large scale event can also have an impact in the precious stone market.
Market Value Risk
Market risk increases in an event when some precious gem owners would be looking to sell instead of buy expensive gemstones. As in any economic turn of event where the supply becomes greater than the demand, a shrewd gemstone buyer could bring down the market value of a particular gemstone up for sale.
Liquidity Risk
Liquidity is also a risk when investing in gemstones since they cannot be sold easily; possibly even at the fair market value price
Time Horizon Risk
Time horizon risk, is when an investor has a time horizon to consider. Investing in precious gems, albeit the safest, is recommended only for those with greater tolerance for the risks posed by longer time zones.
Time zone being the period of time within which one expects to gain from an investment that is linked to a specific goal. That is why mutual funds, which are the more conservative types of investing because it takes into consideration the low risk tolerance and shorter time horizon of investors, do not include precious stones when looking to balance the investment risks of the mutual fund portfolio.
