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Good lord woman, those are unbelievable!
I read some of your past threads too and found your discussion of Indian jewelery culture very interesting. I am certainly no expert, but I had heard that in part buying gold and jewels is a form of investment for many Indian woman, instead of investing with banks etc. Is this true? Is the wealth accumulated in jewels ever "liquidated" so to speak, and if so, is the secondary market more generous in India than it is here (where everyone wants new and "used" is worth maybe half)?
I read some of your past threads too and found your discussion of Indian jewelery culture very interesting. I am certainly no expert, but I had heard that in part buying gold and jewels is a form of investment for many Indian woman, instead of investing with banks etc. Is this true? Is the wealth accumulated in jewels ever "liquidated" so to speak, and if so, is the secondary market more generous in India than it is here (where everyone wants new and "used" is worth maybe half)?
legra
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Thanks for all the lovely comments everyone!
Dreamer D, yes, jewellery is a form of investment for Indian women. Probably the only liquid cash for most women when the dire need arises - easy to liquidate and get much higher profit than any bank. Although most women never liquidate their jewellery unless there is no other option. Girls are gifted jewellery practically from the moment they are born, first from their parents and then from the husband and his family practically every year during the course of the marriage, so they build up quite a nest egg. It's a wonderful tradition and many a husband's business or a child's education has come about due to the accumulation of this jewellery as gold has risen and risen over the years. Many Indian students in the US would not be here if it wasn't for their mother's jewellery and that is a fact! In fact the down payment for my first apartment in London came from a single huge gold neckace I had - see pic of 1981 and don't miss my fab diamond necklace (and earrings) that I gifted to my brother's wife on their wedding. When I was a child growing up in India I recall my grandmother gifting gold coins to family members during festivals. Today when gold prices are sky rocketing there is a shortage of gold coins! It is unbelievable that you cannot even buy gold coins in the open market anymore! Often I take gold coins instead of Dollars to India -it is perfectly legal, just easier to carry and you usually end up making a little more than you paid for. I called my usual jewellery store in Artesia, CA and they said they were sold out and had no idea when to expect a supply! Needless to say, since India has always been the largest buyer of gold in the world, those gold coins are in some safes there, somewhere! And as Jonathan from GOG tells me the diamonds are too!
As to the 2nd question, if the secondary market is more generous in India the answer is yes absolutely, but only if you buy the jewellery there in the first place. Since labour is so cheap and the gold is either 22 or 24 ct, when you go to resell the only thing you will lose is the cost of labour and at the very most 3% of the gold. Let's say you had bought that piece a year ago, you would probably come out a winner and get out more than you paid for. This does not happen in the western world because hand labour is so expensive. When you buy a piece of jewellery here you are paying practically half for the labour and the rest for the metal or stone and it would take decades before you would be able to recoup your cost. Having said that, there are certainly many western jewellers that I admire and I would buy their pieces in a heartbeat. However, when it comes to made to order, my Indian jewellers can't be beat. For e.g. my 2006 ring, that is showing on my avatar was quoted $5200 by Leon Mege and it would take 6-8 weeks to make. Compare that to $300 charged by family jeweller and made in 7 days. I am sure the normal rate would have been $150 but I know I paid a premium just for living in America! But I believe like everywhere else diamonds are hard to re sell for a profit unless a lot of time has passed and you have a good certificate or they are simply spectacular. Jewellery is a way of life in India and you will know what I mean if you ever have a chance to browse through a book entitled "Maharajas' Jewels" available on Amazon - you will just DIE!
Dreamer D, yes, jewellery is a form of investment for Indian women. Probably the only liquid cash for most women when the dire need arises - easy to liquidate and get much higher profit than any bank. Although most women never liquidate their jewellery unless there is no other option. Girls are gifted jewellery practically from the moment they are born, first from their parents and then from the husband and his family practically every year during the course of the marriage, so they build up quite a nest egg. It's a wonderful tradition and many a husband's business or a child's education has come about due to the accumulation of this jewellery as gold has risen and risen over the years. Many Indian students in the US would not be here if it wasn't for their mother's jewellery and that is a fact! In fact the down payment for my first apartment in London came from a single huge gold neckace I had - see pic of 1981 and don't miss my fab diamond necklace (and earrings) that I gifted to my brother's wife on their wedding. When I was a child growing up in India I recall my grandmother gifting gold coins to family members during festivals. Today when gold prices are sky rocketing there is a shortage of gold coins! It is unbelievable that you cannot even buy gold coins in the open market anymore! Often I take gold coins instead of Dollars to India -it is perfectly legal, just easier to carry and you usually end up making a little more than you paid for. I called my usual jewellery store in Artesia, CA and they said they were sold out and had no idea when to expect a supply! Needless to say, since India has always been the largest buyer of gold in the world, those gold coins are in some safes there, somewhere! And as Jonathan from GOG tells me the diamonds are too!
As to the 2nd question, if the secondary market is more generous in India the answer is yes absolutely, but only if you buy the jewellery there in the first place. Since labour is so cheap and the gold is either 22 or 24 ct, when you go to resell the only thing you will lose is the cost of labour and at the very most 3% of the gold. Let's say you had bought that piece a year ago, you would probably come out a winner and get out more than you paid for. This does not happen in the western world because hand labour is so expensive. When you buy a piece of jewellery here you are paying practically half for the labour and the rest for the metal or stone and it would take decades before you would be able to recoup your cost. Having said that, there are certainly many western jewellers that I admire and I would buy their pieces in a heartbeat. However, when it comes to made to order, my Indian jewellers can't be beat. For e.g. my 2006 ring, that is showing on my avatar was quoted $5200 by Leon Mege and it would take 6-8 weeks to make. Compare that to $300 charged by family jeweller and made in 7 days. I am sure the normal rate would have been $150 but I know I paid a premium just for living in America! But I believe like everywhere else diamonds are hard to re sell for a profit unless a lot of time has passed and you have a good certificate or they are simply spectacular. Jewellery is a way of life in India and you will know what I mean if you ever have a chance to browse through a book entitled "Maharajas' Jewels" available on Amazon - you will just DIE!
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Here are my GOG 6.07 studs (3.03 + 3.04) I colour, GIA xxx and AGS 0's. The link of the discussion and specs is here:
<a href="https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-me-with-these-studs-please.149435/" target ="_blank" class="postlink">https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-me-with-these-studs-please.149435/</a>
Not sure if I posted the link right but you know what to do!
Here are my GOG 6.07 studs (3.03 + 3.04) I colour, GIA xxx and AGS 0's. The link of the discussion and specs is here:
<a href="https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-me-with-these-studs-please.149435/" target ="_blank" class="postlink">https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-me-with-these-studs-please.149435/</a>
Not sure if I posted the link right but you know what to do!
These are gorgeous!!! What is gog?
Thank you for the info re buying jewelry in India. I never knew how much % labor was built into the cost. So useful for negotiating. Also I wondered about going to Surat for a deal and your info was most helpful. I am not making a trip there. I too have noticed that high quality of stuff is exported out to get top Dollar Euro, Yen etc. in many countries so India is not alone in this regard. But since so much lab created or synthetic diamonds are cut in India, I would really be worried about getting these and not mined diamonds. All that being said, I love your studs.
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Good old Gold, a well respected vendor by PS’rs!
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