The Scoop
Purchasing Gems and Jewelry In Rough Economic Times
Should people invest in precious gems, diamonds, or jewelry in the year 2011? It is a valid question, because historically such investments were life savers. The best and most notable example of that was the European Jews in World War 11 when they were brutalized by Adolph Hitler. How was it that when the fortune Jews managed to escape across borders into other Countries that they were able almost immediately to have the resources to set up viable business ventures? For a long time the answer remained a mystery, but the fact is that the Jewish people always took a portion of their income whether large or small and invested in diamonds. The diamonds were easily concealed and became instand money in their new Country. Ever since then it has been a fact that in excellent economic times other people generally didn't follow suit. Instead they spent their money on better houses, cars, or expensive vacations. In other words when times were good we tendied not to save. We simply spent, but there was a price to be paid for that folly and in the last 11 years we have paid dearly for that foolishness.
On the other hand during rougher economic times people tended not to travel, or upgrade their homes. We basically stayed home, and the sales of precious gems, diamonds, and gold went up dramatically, so in other words during good times we didn't invest, but in tougher times we did. It is somewhat amazing, but true. In general Americans are not great savers. We haven't been for decades, but in the last 10 years when our economy began to stagnate people suddenly started saving as though their lives were at stake. We all became nervous or scared about the future, so we began to tuck away every dime we could, and we say, "It was about time." In fact people in general who managed to systematically save money are better off today for their sacrifice as opposed to a trend of spend, spend, spend with no concern about the future, so today what do people do? You don't make much on a savings account. The stock market is no place for small investors to hang out, so if we have a little money left over what do we do with it, and this raises the question of preciious gems and metals. We certainly wish that we had a bunch of gold. How nice that would be, and what about diamonds or precious gems?
Our answer might surprise you. We say caveat emptor. "Buyer Beware." Why do we say that? Again that answer is simple. There is a scam a minute going on in the world and people are being victimized by slick talking people who are interested in only one thing and that is to get your money away from you. We are a vulnerable people right now. We want to believe a get rich quick scheme, and there is no shortage of scam artists out there who spin a convincing tale. On the other hand does that mean that a person should NEVER invest in a precious feel good item that historically has had great reliability as a back stop against economic downturns? The answer to that question is no, but you have to be careful. For example, there are millions of fake gems in the world. Virtually every gem on the planet has had some sort of treatment, enhancement, difficusion of color, coating, or in fact are just plain colored glass sold as real gems, and it's not just little scam artists either. Big Corporations have been caught playing games with a variety of gems. It is a sickening trend, but it's real, so what does a person do?
Our suggestions are simple. Start by learning about the gem you love. Study them, and investigate their value historically and currently. Secondly, trust your dealer, and by that we mean real trust created by getting acquainted. Learn about who you are dealing with until your are totally confident in the persons background, expertise, and character. Last of all we wouldn't invest in any gem that cannot be proven to be 100% Natural. Now we admit that those are few and far between, but they are out there. We have pictured an over 80 Carat Oregon Opal from Opal Butte in the USA. It is a gift of mother earth. It has never been touched by any treatment. Likewise the Oregon Sunstones we own are in that same 100% natural category. Are they worth buying? We believe so, because we went to great lengths to obtain them, and we will provide documenation of their natural state and their origin that would be held up in a Court of Law, but on the other hand we are not trying to selll this big Oregon Opal. It is simply our display stone to demonstrate that there are natural gems left in the world, and they can be great investments if the price is right.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us. We are glad to share infomation, ideas, and provide our thoughts on how to invest in tough economic times, and last of all there are no charges for our opinions. If anyone has questions all they have to do is contact us. The advice is FREE with no exceptions. Thank you for reading this article. We hope that it was worth your time.
Jim Stewart
Website: www.oregonsunstonegem.com
Email: sales@oregonsunstonegem.com