Wedding Jewelry: Investment of a lifetime

Investing In the Marriage

A woman's dowry, in many countries, is worn around her neck and wrists in the form of gold chains and bracelets. While in modern countries, a woman doesn't require a dowry to marry, some of the jewelry purchases made during this time can be a sound investment. With gold prices at record levels, any jewelry bought for wedding purposes can be a nice way to invest a portion of wealth in an appreciating asset. Even diamonds have a way of retaining value over time, making them ideally suited for putting money aside into commodities that remain viable for years to come. Just be sure they're real diamonds as the dollar value is the difference between diamond and cubic zirconia.

Choose Gold or Platinum

The setting of your wedding jewelry is traditionally gold. Gold, however, is a soft metal that wears away easily. Platinum has become more popular, even as it costs more. That may also be a good reason to choose platinum, over gold, as the value is intrinsically higher. It also goes well with modern looks that favor a chrome or silver finish, rather than a yellow gold for fine jewelry. If you can't afford platinum, but want the look, there are white gold alloys, but they are less in value than purer forms of gold.

Diamonds Have Staying Power

Diamonds have long been used to launder money because they can easily be smuggled across borders. While you're probably not into any criminal activity, the same reasoning to choose diamonds over other stones exists for the serious investor. They are more easily liquidated and sold into cash, should hard times strike. While it would be tough to trade in a ring, even if you were struck with misfortune, it's a viable way to lock wealth away for a period of time, and still enjoy it.

Don't Forget The Wedding Bands

Bands can have diamonds studded into them now too, for both men and women. There are fancy colored diamonds that can have a higher value and more market appeal. If you survive the wedding, why not increase your jewelry holdings each year with an anniversary gift of fine jewelry? By the time your reach your 50th wedding anniversary, you'll already have a nice stash of gold set aside from previous years.