Precious stones have a luxury problem: their value is just as difficult to measure as that of jewelry or works of art. When buying and selling, interested parties should follow a number of guidelines in order to avoid costly mistakes.
First of all, consumers should be well informed. “Especially with gemstones, inexperienced private investors should exercise caution, take enough time and use specialist expertise. Otherwise there is a risk that gemstones will be overpriced or, in the worst case, turn out to be plagiarism,” says Ralf Scherfling from the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center. In order to reliably determine the value of the stones, they first have to examine trained experts, so-called gemologists. Accordingly, independently issued certificates are essential when trading in gemstones. Because they document the so-called four Cs, which are decisive for the value: carat for weight, color for color, clarity for purity and cut for the cut.
If traders offer in-house certificates, investors should not be satisfied with them, as they are usually not accepted by other traders. Instead, certificates from renowned, independent organizations are mandatory. These are, for example, the Swiss Gem Research Foundation, the Swiss Research Gemlab, the Swiss company Gübelin and the German Gem Research Foundation in Idar-Oberstein in Rhineland-Palatinate. Experts also advise investing only in natural-colored and cut stones. In raw form, you cannot see possible flaws in gemstones.
Buying gemstones on vacation? This is usually not a good idea
It is also important to look closely at the seller, who should specialize in gemstones if possible. As a rule, the prices of specialists are around 20 percent below those of jewelers. Caution is also advised if the dealer excludes the possibility of buying back his stones at a later date; reputable dealers usually offer this option. Consumer advocates generally advise against buying gemstones on vacation. Tourists often mistakenly assumed that they could get a bargain in the countries of origin of the gemstones, but this is rarely the case. Instead, criminals often seek out holidaymakers there in order to give them fake stones.
Investors should not be blinded by high increases in value – at the beginning of the pandemic, valuable specimens temporarily increased by 25 percent. Gemstones remain a speculative investment, as consumer advocates point out. VAT is also incurred on every transaction with gemstones. And don’t forget: the stones must also be stored safely at home.