Sparkling returns - The Wealth Report
The latest results from the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index (KFLII), which now includes coloured diamonds.
There is no doubt that so-called investments of passion are still catching the imagination of the wealth management sector and the media. I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the press coverage devoted to KFLII since it was launched two years ago.
One question I have often been asked is why we don’t include gold or diamonds in the index. Gold to me has always seemed more of a conventional investment that tends to sit mainly in a bank vault, while the pricing indices available for white diamonds were too broad in their scope for inclusion.
Now, however, a group of industry experts has formed a research foundation specialising in coloured or “fancy” diamonds, along with a new index tracking their performance. Because of their rarity these generally pink, yellow or blue stones command very high prices at auction and seem to fall more readily into the category of investments of passion.
So how has this newcomer to KFLII performed compared with the other asset classes that we track? Since January 2005 The Fancy Color Diamond Price Index has increased by 167% in value, which interestingly is almost exactly the same rise as the wider jewellery index that we use. Christie’s jewellery consultant Raymond Sancroft-Baker, who compiles the index on behalf of Art Market Research, says that demand for top-quality coloured gemstones is also very strong.
“We’ve seen a million dollars a carat paid for a Burmese ruby recently, and £200,000 a carat for a Kashmir sapphire.” The market for pearls is also extremely buoyant, says Mr Sancroft-Baker. “There is a lot of demand from the Gulf States, who are buying back their heritage. I recently valued a pair of natural pearl earrings at a million pounds.”
Once again classic cars have been the strongest performer in KFLII over both the long and short-term, with the value of the HAGI Top Index rising by an astounding 487% over the past 10 years and growing 16% in 2014.This actually represents something of a slowdown, following the index’s staggering 47% surge the year before.
HAGI founder Dietrich Hatlapa says the market is returning to normal – although a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta did set a new world record when it went under the hammer for $38m at the Bonhams Quail Lodge sale in August. In general, however, classic Porsche models performed most strongly in 2014, while more-modern supercars from the 1970s and 80s, like the Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari F40, are growing in popularity, adds Mr Hatlapa.
After a few years of relatively languid performance, art appears to be bouncing back, with annual growth of 15%, according to data from Art Market Research. “The art market has fully recovered from the economic crisis,” says Harvey Mendelson, of art advisory firm 1858 Ltd. Chariot, by Giacometti, was the most expensive auction sale of the year, making almost $101m at Sotheby’s record-breaking November sale of modern and impressionist art in New York.
However, instability in certain parts of the world is having an impact on specific sectors of the market. At a Sotheby’s evening sale of high-value Russian art in London only 32% of the 37 lots on offer found buyers. Coins were the only other asset class to achieve double-digit growth in 2014 with gains of 13%.
returns on diamondsA rare Edward VIII, 1937, gold sovereign made £516,000 when it was auctioned by Baldwin’s in May. Our benchmark philatelic index – the Stanley Gibbons GB250 – grew by just 3% over the year, but the market for Chinese and Commonwealth stamps continues to grow strongly, says Keith Heddle, Head of Investments at Stanley Gibbons.
The sole remaining example of a British Guiana 1856 one-cent black on magenta set a new world record when it was auctioned for $9.48m by Sotheby’s New York in June.
The 1933 Patek Philippe Supercomplication pocket watch was another record breaker when it sold for 23.2 million Swiss francs at Sotheby’s in Geneva, the highest price for any timepiece sold at auction. The overall watch market, however, remained stable with annual growth of 4%.
Knight Frank’s Fine Wine Icons Index was up 7% on the year, with strong growth for certain US and Italian vintages.But the top end of the Bordeaux market is yet to stabilise, although it should finally bottom out in 2015, says Nick Martin of Wine Owners, which compiles the index. The value of antique furniture continued to fall in 2014.
Overall, KFLII grew by a further 10% in 2014 and has risen by 205% over the past 10 years. Although this doesn’t take into account any storage, maintenance, insurance or dealing costs, it does help explain the ongoing interest in luxury investments.
