“A kiss may be grand, but it won’t pay the rental, on your humble flat, or help you at the automat.”
Like literally the most famous song about how much girls love jewellry is just explaining the importance of getting jewellry for when your partner leaves you penniless and alone.
The founder of Girl Scouting in the US, Juliette Gordon Low, funded her first troop by selling her pearl necklace, which was her only belonging after her husband died and left everything to his mistress.
She founded Girl Scouts to teach girls self-sufficiency so they wouldn’t have to go through what she went through when her husband died and she didn’t know how to take care of herself.
While we’re on the subject, let’s please also remember that historically disenfranchised communities who had to worry about frequently being run out of town often bought expensive jewelry with their limited funds not because they were greedy or tacky or classless, but rather because you can’t sew a real estate investment into the lining of your coat, and the powers that be can’t freeze a diamond necklace the way that they can freeze a bank account.
Speaking as a jeweler in America right now, I cannot tell you how many people are buying jewelry as an emergency fund. The business my spouse started and I’ve been helping with for nigh on 20 years now, we sell to the queer community. Other people, sure, but I cannot tell you how many queer folks I’ve made jewelry for.
And they are buying as much as they can right now. Genderweird people, gay men, bi folks in same gender marriages, lesbians, anyone who looks around and realizes that the noose is tightening? They’re buying what they can afford. Sometimes a little more than they can afford.
People are asking about metal purity in our jewelry. This has never happened before, not even during the first trump debacle. People are worried, wondering how they can get out if things go real bad. And I tell them how to sell their stuff for cash if they need to. How to find places that won’t cheat them.
How to get the most out of the jewelry they already have.
They play it off as a joke, most of the time, and I’ll play along to make sure they’re comfortable, but we all know the joke is only funny because it’s true.
I have warned people that they won’t get what they paid back. People who buy jewelry are trying to make money, and they don’t care about the hours put into hand crafting a piece. They care about the metal, the stones, and not much else. Folks I tell this to understand, and sometimes ask if we sell bullion. Or coins. Something that they can use in the emergency they expect is coming.
I wish I didn’t have to do this. I wish more people worried about what it says when people are planning on fleeing their homes with only what they have on their back. I wish I didn’t have a plan for what happens when my genderqueer ass is declared illegal.
But I do.
To expand on this excellent explanation: Do not buy diamonds.
Due to the DeBeers cartel, diamonds are expensive to buy but kind of worthless because there’s a giant stockpile of them.
e.g. you can buy a $1000 diamond then try to sell it back and be offered $200. The price is artificial because not only are they not that rare now, but we cn make them bigger, better and in any colour we like.
Which means DeBeers is trying to persuade everyone that natural diamonds, mined the old fashioned way with slave labour or giant, ecosystem wrecking dredgers, are ‘better’.
Guillotines all ‘round.
Anyway, Silver is also a weird one: It’s too stable. You buy a bar for $5 back in 1995, and now it’s worth $5, accounting for inflation. It doesn’t really lose or accrue value that much.
OK at this point you should know that: 1: I’m not a professional: This is not my field. 2: This is my opinion and if you’re intruiged, you should absolutely research the hell out of this Ok that caveat done, this is where I’m going with this:
Gold on the other hand…
… Gold’s value is based on how much people are panic buying it. Republicans are always having A Moment and panic buying gold bars, pushing the price up.
Meaning the price is somewhat of a bubble, and there’s a point where it’ll burst and a lot of people will panic sell and drive the price into the ground.
This means that Silver is probably your best bet because the value won’t change very much, and there’s not a weird hyperinflation bubble happening, unless you want to speculate n the value of gold, which is a horribly high buy-in price, and you might not sell fast enough to avoid losing your shirt.
Bullion of any type is also partially scammy.
You can buy a plain bar with a little markup over the metal ‘sscrap’ price for the cost of processing (Casting a bar, assaying, certifying, packing, posting, someone’s profit…) and you will take a small loss when you sell.
But what you don’t want is the 'collectable’ bars with buffalos or naked ladies or enamel painted eagles on.
I mean if you want one just because it’d make you happy, absolutely - I knew a guy who had a 1kg silver bar as a paperweight just to troll people who assumed it was fake. And I have a small 1 troy ounce bar I keep as a fidget toy.
The resale value of a 'collectible’ bullion bar is… about the same as a plain bullion bar, so any extra you paid is a loss. Unless you can find someone who desperately wants to collect that set (Which is possible in the same way as winning the lottery is possible: It is, but you won’t).
Coins are also… eh. Actual real coins are a whole different thing. A lot of bullion comes in 'Rounds’ - It’s fake coins. Bullion bars in disks to look like coins. They’re not legal tender, they’re just precious metals that are the equivalent of monopoly money.
You cannot spend them any more than you can spend a bullion bar, or a hallmark ceramic cupid.
There is a vested interest on the vendor’s behalf for you to believe that because they are circular and maybe have an eagle on, or a portrait of Trump, that they’re somehow worth more than the metal in them. They aren’t.
Bullion is very often sold as 999.0 fine. That’s 99.9 per-CENT pure. or 999 Per MILLE - It’s measured in parts per thousand.
This is an example of a bar that’s been damaged by handling - It’s mine, the one I bought to just hold and enjoy.
Handling isn’t just a cosmetic issue - It wears the bar down over time so it’s no longer 1 troy ounce exactly. Another thing you should watch for when buying.
A bar that hasn’t been handled will look more or less untouched, and be in a plastic case or bag. If it’s dirty or scratched and scuffed, it’s been someone’s play thing or possibly fake.
Beware of voins and bars that have soemthing in the description that admits that it’s impure - Fine Jewellry Silver? OK it’s mixed with Zinc to make it harder. Weird descriptions that make it sound like an SNL skit:
“Is it pure silver?” 'It’s FREEDOM™ silver, and that’s BETTER! Look for the eagle stamp’ “So it’s like… 999.99 pm pure?” 'FREEDOM™ silver is certified by the Trump Foundation!’ “OK but it’s pure silver.” 'Right but what’s the purity?’ “It’s 100% (shipped in) America FREEDOM™ silver!”
… it’s aluminium plated in silver that will rub off. There’s a lot of listing son non-bullion speciality sites doing this.
Or cheap “Chinese” bullion with zodiac stamps which won’t tell you the purity.
There are also a lot of Bullion sites buying and selling, who are… mmm let’s say they’re in the Trump school of economics.
The easy way to see who’s doing what is to Google for bullion live prices then compare to see if the market’s showing the same on multiple different sites like the Royal Mint.
Remember: If the price is too good to be true, read the small print, check the purity and the actual weight.
For example I left the bar on the left in my pocket and it shrank in the wash…
OK it’s a comically small but still very real bullion bar in its case. That’s what silver looks like when some asshole hasn’t been fondling it for years.
However, if someone did some creative photography and put that up, you might assume it’s a full size bar and miss that it’s small enough to fit in your ear. You think you’re getting ten big bars and… you’re getting ten chips, that have the value of about half a One Troy Ounce bar.
They are however very cool little novelties to give people. Now you know.
Anyway, unlike the metal I’m not precious. This is all my opinion. If someone (Looking at you @shymikka, if it would please you?) feels like explaining any parts that are wrong, dangerous or misleading DO IT.
Please. I do NOT want to steer someone wrong because they thought column inches = expertise.
I’m Jewish, and all of my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents (and going back yet further) always made sure we had secreted valuables and trade skills that can travel. Whether it was a bar of silver, a string of pearls, candlesticks, goldsmith’s tools, a law degree, bottles of liquor, letters of introduction, fine cloth – anything to give us a backup option when things would break bad. So here’s my advice: (1) don’t put all your eggs in one basket. get a mix of stuff. (2) social connections, education, and skills are just as important as cash or even more so. (3) understand that when the shit hits the fan, you WILL NOT get full value. you will be forced to abandon most of your things, and you will be extorted over the rest. (4) have a real, written, thought-out exit plan. if you wait until the last second, you might not make it out of the crush.
