Imagine spending £600k on a diamond Christmas topper? One million pounds for a pen to sign your contracts with and lots a Rolex watches fitted with diamonds. Yes, that’s possible if you super rich and famous. Along with the team over at Angelic Diamonds, retailers of engagement rings, we take a look at the market of expensive goods and investigate how some items earned their price tags.
The allure of expensive items
Yes, you are right, most of the super rich people spend so much money on luxury items because they the disposable income to do so. But, there are other reasons why the usual consumer feels the need to invest in expensive items.
Pierre Bourdieu, French philosopher, suggested in one argument that the things that consumers buy are ways of communicating a ‘symbolic hierarchy’ to others. This way, they are showing everybody their social status. Buying luxury bags as a way of preventing other women going near their man? Yes, another research found that women actually do that. Never thought of buying a Chanel for keeping other women away, but hey, that’s a really interesting point of view.
Another interesting fact is that age can affect the attitude of the buyer, that in turn affect the likelihood of making a luxury purchase. Bain & Company predicts that by 2015 Millennials and Generation Z will account for 45% of the global personal luxury goods market.
Of course that the digital world is also influencing the luxury market. A boasting 70% of luxury purchases are influenced by online interactions and 14% of buyers aged 18 to 24 were found to have made their first luxury purchase over the internet.
But why are they so expensive?
Well, because of a wide range of reasons. The quality of the materials used in the production of the piece, the level of craftsmanship or even just the weight of the brand and the heritage. Two materials that often bump up the cost of an item are diamonds and gold — but why?
The luxury of diamonds
Dating back hundred of years the attraction to diamonds is still very present nowadays. At some point diamonds were reserved for royalty, making them sought after everyone else.
Right now, diamonds are more accessible and not only royals can have them, but the price and quality still vary depending on the ‘Four Cs’.
The Four Cs determining the worth of a diamonds are clarity, carat, colour and cut . Clarity refers to the overall appearance of the diamond, which can be affected by ‘inclusions’ and ‘blemishes’. These aren’t visible to everybody and they are ffound through analysis by an expert. The weight of the diamond is expressed through the carat weight — a metric ‘carat’ is defined by 200 milligrams. Talking about colour, a pure diamond is truly colourless and more valuable than one which has a presence of colour. And finally, the cut grade of a diamond determines how it sparkles when it interacts with light.
Who doesn’t love gold?
I sure do love me some gold jewellery! Me and million others! Wealth, power & opulent decor? Gold was there and will always be.
Gold is the least reactive from all the other elements in the periodic table. Meaning that is less likely to corrode when used in different ways. It also doesn’t rust and is quite gorgeous and versatile.
Compared to many of the other elements in the periodic table, gold is one of the least-reactive. This means that it is less likely to corrode when used. The metal also doesn’t rust and is aesthetically pleasing, plus it’s versatile!
True luxury jewellery and other items contain diamonds and gold. They’re popularity is still here after centuries and it won’t go anytime soon. I’m super curios, are you a fan of luxury items? I’m especially talking about those who contain diamond and gold.
