Gemstones as an Investment

I often am asked: Are gemstones a good investment? And: Should I invest in gemstones?

I do know though that throughout history man has been investing in and collecting gemstones. Gemstones can be considered a hard asset, much like gold or silver. The advantage gemstones have over gold and silver as an investment is that they take up much less space when storing. Be aware that gemstone investing should be considered a long term investment, not a "get rich quick" investment. If someone told me that they have a "get rich quick" anything I would run as fast as I could in the other direction!

I have a good friend and scholar, who explained to me years ago about investing in hard assets. This is what he explained to me. In the year 1865 a man could walk into a store with a twenty dollar gold piece, buy a good suit off of the rack, a leather belt, a pair of leather boots, a good pocket watch and a hat, all for that twenty dollar gold piece. Today, with that same twenty dollar gold piece you have the same buying power with it that you had in 1865, in that you could still buy a good suit off of the rack, a leather belt, a pair of leather boots, a good pocket watch and a hat. The buying power of it has remained the same.  Because the twenty dollar gold piece is a hard asset, it will always hold its value.

I always like to look at how rare a gemstone is. I check to see how many sources there are for a particular gemstone. Generally speaking, the fewer mining sources a gemstone has means that the chances of a particular gemstone being in limited supply are greater. Such is the case with Tanzanite, Mandarin Garnet and Paraiba Tourmaline to name some of the most popular rare gemstones. Other "rare" gemstones that I see available for investment purposes are Benitoite (as the mine is now closed), Bastnaesite, Pink Apatite, Imperial Topaz, Paparadscha Sapphire, Enstatite, Color Change Garnets, Demantoid Garnet, Contra Luz Opals, Mali Garnets, Mint Green Garnets, Grossular Garnets, Chrome Tourmaline, Natural Colored Diamonds and Sphene just to name a few. The rarer the gemstone the more sought after it will be come.

I invest in "all" natural gemstones not just the "rare" ones, as the sources for these gemstones are limited as well. Nature only produces so many natural gemstones of gem quality and when these sources are depleted the prices are sure to increase.

All custom faceted gemstones will have more value than the commercial cut gemstones because they are rarer. Custom faceted gemstones are cut to perfection to bring out more of the gemstones beauty and are all one of a kind.

I am now watching one gemstone in particular for investment purposes, that gemstone being Ammolite. Ammolites are a beautiful natural gemstone that only comes from three different mines in the world and all three of them are in Alberta Canada. Ammolites are fairly new to the gemstone market and are currently very affordable. Once the popularity of Ammolites increases and the mining sources start to deplete you will see a sharp increase in the prices of these beautiful gemstones.

I like to invest in gemstones because I thoroughly enjoy gemstones! I enjoy looking at them and I also enjoy wearing them. Why shouldn’t I invest in something that I can enjoy for a lifetime?