Investing In Jewels & Precious Metals
In a world cluttered with endless choices for investment, it can be overwhelming to decide where to build your financial future. There are bonds, stocks, mutual funds, commodities, and all their various subsets to choose from, and even with guidance, it can be very difficult to know what is best for your family’s future.
While many people enjoy the process of utilizing various instruments to grow their money, there are certain investors who really like the tangible. You might even say they treasure it.
A solid alternative for these investors has been jewels and precious metals. They like that the demand for these materials is fairly easy for a layperson to understand and predict, giving them a feeling of greater control about what their investments are doing.
That is just the beginning of the appeal of precious metals and stones. TreasuryVault makes it not just possible but simple to invest in gold online, getting you started quickly on the process of investing. You just make the transaction and start watching its value rise.
Of course, gold is not the only metal. There is also silver and platinum, which are both solid investments as well. The difference is in the market size. Almost anyone can afford silver, and most people own at least a few pieces of pure gold. But platinum is less widely owned by the general public, despite hovering at roughly 75% of the price of gold.
What difference do those price levels make? The relative cost isn’t relevant; if you have $10,000 to invest, it doesn’t matter if it’s spent on eight ounces of gold or twelve ounces of platinum. What is relevant is the market. Gold and silver are so widely held that you will be a better predictor of its market. Whereas platinum may react more slowly, gold and silver will jump quickly in response to market forces, giving you a faster reaction to buy or sell.
Diamonds are similar to gold in terms of their popularity. But there is a whole other set of variables in diamonds. Because cutting can be done in so many different ways, not all diamonds are equal. The most skilled cutters will maximize the quantity of gem-grade diamond from a given piece of rough diamond, so the trade of diamond finishing plays heavily into the supply.
Another unique feature of diamonds is their limited production. Almost all the diamonds in the world are cut and polished in Surat, India. While this means that the craftspersons engaged in finishing diamonds are tremendously skilled, it can also mean real instability in the gem market.
That is because any nation can undergo upheaval. There could be a typhoon that disrupts transportation and utilities. A hostile nation or terrorist group could invade the area. Imagine if a single industry had been centered almost entirely in Manhattan on September 11, 2001. That is what could potentially happen to the diamond industry in Surat.
The impacts for the investor are simple. A halt in diamond production means at least a temporary increase in prices. Should you be looking for a quick boost, you could catch that uptick at its acme and cash in. If not, you should at least understand that the gains you are seeing are temporary and shouldn’t be viewed as a true gain in wealth—yet.
Investing is complicated, even in straightforward options like precious metals. When someone’s financial security is on the line, it is critical that they are able to understand the markets in which their money resides. If it is too complicated for their comfort level, they should invest elsewhere.
Returns are wonderful, and they are certainly what investing is ultimately all about. But there is a lot to be said for having a portfolio that lets an investor feel like their money is in something tangible, durable, and of intrinsic value, rather than in something that is really just a tiny piece of endorsed paper.
