Explainer / How to pick the right high jewellery to invest in: consider buying from Cartier, Tiffany & Co, Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels and other luxury brands – but don’t forget personal style

Jun 2 , 2022

The Pink Star, the most valuable cut diamond ever offered at auction, sold for US$71.2 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, in 2017. Photo: AP

The work of jewellers with extremely limited output, like Joel Arthur Rosenthal of JAR or David and Michael Robinson of David Michael Jewels, can bring solid returns

Natural pearls are even rarer than large diamonds – a pearl pendant owned by French Queen Marie Antoinette once sold for US$36.2 million at a Sotheby’s auction

During the pandemic, auction houses observed a marked increase in sales of high jewellery. Numerous owners put pieces on the market, perhaps out of a wish to liquidate assets and invest their funds in the red hot stock market of the past two years – or potentially due to the realities of social distancing, with less and less opportunities to wear outstanding jewellery.

On the other side of the equation, we also saw demand for fine gems and jewellery ascend in parallel with share prices. As the world’s wealthy grew wealthier during the boom of 2020-21, many found the idea of high jewellery increasingly appealing. Here was an asset that would steadily appreciate, that is easily transported and readily cashed in, and that all the while would serve as a handsome adornment and status symbol – altogether, a rather attractive proposition.

This bracelet was gifted to Britain’s Princess Margaret on her 21st birthday. Photo: Sotheby’s

For those wanting to begin building a collection of high jewellery, the first step on the journey is to decide what sort of baubles appeal to you personally. “The most important thing is really to indulge your passion, figure out what you’re most interested in and what you’d like to collect,” suggests Regine Ngan, head of the jewellery department at Sotheby’s Asia in Hong Kong.

“You can see a very strong point of view in the jewellery of great collectors such as the Duchess of Windsor or Elizabeth Taylor,” she notes.

Like art, when it comes to jewellery, you must buy what you like, what you want to live with and will take joy in looking at. “Acquiring a piece that’s just going to sit in your safety deposit box really defeats the purpose,” Ngan says. “Jewellery needs to be worn and gemstones need light – the light brings them to life.”

Princess Margaret wearing the bracelet that was gifted to her when she turned 21. Photo: Sotheby’s

Finding your passion could involve picking a particular period to focus upon, such as the art deco 1920s and 30s, the Belle Époque era of the late 19th century, or for the funkier collector, the disco days of the glitzy 1970s. Alternatively, you may wish to collect the work of a jeweller you’re especially fond of or identify with. Buying jewellery from renowned maisons such as Bulgari, Cartier, Tiffany and Van Cleef & Arpels could prove to be savvy financially, as unsigned vintage pieces can be more difficult to sell, when eventually you choose to part with an item.

Rarity is often cited as the essential quality of any legitimate luxury good, and in jewellery, scarcity is a core component of value. Hence, the work of jewellers with extremely limited output, like Joel Arthur Rosenthal of JAR in Paris, or David and Michael Robinson, the twin brothers behind David Michael Jewels, is likely to offer a solid return on investment.