Knight Frank, the independent global property consultancy, launched its Luxury Investment Index (KFLII). The report cites that in coloured gemstones, a 17.43-carat Kashmir sapphire ring was the top performer at Bonhams’ London sale at the end of April. Formerly owned by a European noble family, this Kashmir sapphire ring fetched £723,063, far exceeding its £300,000 to £400,000 guide price.
The report focused on the increasing value of coloured gemstones, seen to be outperforming the wider jewellery market and therefore increasingly popular with investors and collectors worldwide.The index series provides data on investments of passion, such as whisky, cars, jewellery and others, tracking each over time.
Whisky still led KFLII by some margin at the end of Q1 2019, art was the next top-performing asset class, with the value of the Art Market Research World Index rising by 12%over the past 12 months.
The Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index, Q1 2019:
Source:Compiled by Knight Frank Research using data from Art Market Research (art, coins, furniture, jewellery, stamps and watches), Fancy Color Research Foundation (coloured diamonds), HAGI (cars), Rare Whisky 101 and Wine Owners.All data Q1 2019 except watches (Q2 2018)and coins, furniture, jewellery and stamps (Q4 2018, stamps provisional)
Record auction prices of gemstones achieved per carat:
Luxury Assets | Growthin Asset Value | Indian UHNWIs citing investment of passion that they commonly collect | 12 Month | 10 Year | Furniture | 1% | -32% | 7% | Stamps | 6% | 64% | 0% | Watches | 5% | 73% | 52% | Jewellery | -5% | 112% | 31% | Coloured Diamonds | 0% | 113% | 7% | Wine | 6% | 127% | 14% | Art | 12% | 148% | 69% | Cars | 1% | 189% | 38% | Coins | 12% | 193% | NA | Whisky | 35% | 563% | 31% | |
Source: Knight Frank Research
Shishir Baijal, Chairman & Managing Director, Knight Frank India, said, “Promising auction prices of coloured gemstones depict that consumers prefer high-quality gemstones that are rare to collect and unique in designs. More than 100% incremental value of the gemstones and jewellery over a decade have made them lucrative asset investment classes, than just purchasing it for aesthetic value. Indian UHNWIs are increasingly making passion led investments in gems and jewellery. Much of the rising popularity of coloured gemstones is due to growing awareness and developments that have boosted consumer confidence, such as widespread certification, more industry transparency, and gemmological analysis.”
Evolution of RUBIES; record prices achieved per carat at auction house sales:
Source: Gemfields
Andrew Shirley, Head of Luxury Research at Knight Frank, commented,“In this issue of our Luxury Investment Index, we take an in-depth look at the performance of coloured gemstones. The interesting story here is that coloured gemstones are outperforming the wider jewellery market with some significant sales taking place already in 2019.”
Jean Ghika, Global Head of jewellery at Bonhams, cited, “The rarity factor is an undeniable pull,” she says. “Potential buyers are looking to expand their collections beyond colourless diamonds. They’re keen to seek out the very best examples of highly desirable and rare specimens, whether that be Kashmir sapphires, Burma rubies or no-oil emeralds, the likes of which they may never find again.”
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Coloured Stones | Auction Price ($) | Ruby | 1,196,809 | Emerald | 305,516 | Colourless Diamond | 282,485 | Sapphire | 242,145 |