The Sustainability of Buying at Auction

 Human fascination with gold and gemstones is no new phenomenon. We have adorned ourselves with emeralds and rubies, gold, and other metals for millennia. It has remained a visual cue of wealth throughout history. The gold and gemstones ancient Kings and Queens, Emperors and Chiefs adorned themselves with remain intact today.

There is a huge movement within younger generations about buying a capsule collection of high quality items instead of a large quantity of low value products. Such as costume jewellery that will tarnish immediately and turn your finger or ear green. Although it is more of a financial investment, fine jewellery unlike costume jewellery hold a lot of their value. And can bought and sold around the world. Travelling down under and stuck for your flight home, your gold chain that you got for Christmas could be sold there and pay for the flight. The value does not diminish from region to region for the most part, and although may not be possible in every region, few consumer goods are this transferable.

We live in a society where single-use plastics and disposable products fill our houses and shops, rivers and oceans. It is estimated that about 60 truckloads a minute of clothes are burned or end up in landfill. The Earth and her resources are finite, such too are precious metals and gemstones. The practices that we all take for granted are not sustainable for much longer. The beautiful thing about buying at Auction is that you are not adding to the increased output from the world’s resources. Second-hand jewellery forms an endless cycle, enjoyed by one wearer, and then handed down or sold for the next generation to wear and enjoy.

Fine jewellery can be melted down, repaired, reworked and rehomed an infinite number of times. Jewellery can be passed from one generation to another, passing wealth, sentiment, and legacy between family and at auction, even strangers. Auctions by nature, operate in the circular economy, reusing instead of buying brand new.