Art, Diamonds, Watches, Collectibles etc.

[winston]

DANGEROUS ANTIQUES !

Between Antiques' Road Show, Martha Stewart and "How-To" cable TV shows, many people are buying old items like dishes, mugs, bowls, glasses, etc.

HOWEVER there is a caveat of danger.

Many of these items in use contain LEAD! We all know about the dangers of lead in water, but glass and ceramics contained very high amounts of lead. Lead crystal for example. IN ADDITION, many imports still contain lead in pottery, kitchen items like glasses, dishes, etc.

There is a simple test to detect lead in antiques that are use. A simple stick from the hardware store rubbed on the object will change color in the presence of lead and perhaps make an antique something to enjoy by looking at instead of using.

I haven't heard of the dangers of lead in a long time, and the new generation of collectors may not know about this and many forget about it.

Informing the public could be a great lifesaver!

Source: www.wisdomtips.com

[winston]

Women are buying their own diamonds by kathleen beckett

TOMOKO Takami bought her first piece of jewellery when she was 19, on a trip to Paris from her home in Japan. “I bought a Christian Dior 18-karat gold necklace because I wanted to have something as a memory of my first adventure,” said Takami, a translator, writer and editor who is now 42.

“I worked very hard during my first year in college and paid all of the trip expenses myself. I felt I deserved something shiny and grown-up.” Takami’s tale is increasingly typical.

Women are not waiting for a man to buy them jewellery. They are buying what they like, when they want. According to Forbes.com, women now control US$20 (RM63) trillion in annual consumer spending globally. They are transforming the marketplace, and that includes jewellery.

A woman who buys jewellery for herself is “definitely a trend”, even in the rarefied world of Graff Diamonds, where the average price for something sparkly is US$150,000 (RM475,000), said Henri Barguirdjian, who leads Graff’s United States operations.

http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Wom ... -diamonds/

[winston]

The Perfect Gift for the Investor Who Has Everything

by Alexander Green

Source: Investment U

http://www.investmentu.com/article/deta ... I4Uu9KUd1Y

[winston]

The Secrets of Creating Wealth OUTSIDE the Stock Market By Dr. Steve Sjuggerud

Want to know how to make money outside of the stock market? Then listen to these guys…

Seriously… Listen to my latest Inside True Wealth podcast. It's all about how to create wealth outside of stocks, with special guests David Hall and Van Simmons.

Today, I'll share with you part of the first five minutes of the show…

Steve Sjuggerud: David Hall and Van Simmons are legends to me. These guys know what works in investing outside of the stock market.

As you may know, I have gone as far as you can with my education, and as far as you can in the investment business. The most important thing I've learned is:

If you want to learn how to make money, you have to learn from people who actually make it… You don't learn to make money from a professor or a textbook… You figure out how successful investors do it, and you do what they do.

David Hall and Van Simmons have incredible track records of success in business… They founded PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service. And they are, in my opinion, the best coin dealers in America.

But I look up to them because they have learned to make money outside of the stock market. I have learned that the principles that they apply to the coin market work in nearly all markets. So I've asked them to come and share those ideas today.

Right now is a particularly important time to talk with them. You see, the stock market has gone up for six years straight. At some point, you're going to need to do something else with your money, outside of the stock market.

Also, the U.S. dollar has soared recently, so it's probably time for the dollar to weaken, and for gold to strengthen. David Hall and Van Simmons are experts in gold, and experts at investing outside of the stock market.

David, let me start by asking you… You've dealt with some of the wealthiest people in the world in your five decades in the coin markets. Now, I know you have customers from the little old lady around the corner buying one or two coins, all the way up to the world's wealthiest people.

I am interested in what the most successful people in the world do with their money. What are they looking for now? Do they do something different than the average guy with their money?

So David, tell me, what are wealthy people doing right now?

David Hall: They're definitely looking for alternatives. There is a lot of money sloshing around in the world. It's all created with "QE Infinity" in the U.S., and now in Europe. Interest rates are sort of zero. So these very wealthy people are looking for alternatives, that's why some of the very high-end collectibles in many fields have gone way up…

… Also, I think they're very long-term oriented, looking for something that's going to be of value many years out, probably even thinking of their heirs.

SS: So David, you say people are looking for alternatives that are going to have value in the future. But how do you know what will have value in the future?

Van Simmons explained it to me once. He said "Steve, take a 35-year-old guy today. Twenty years ago, what made him feel rebellious and free? Now look ahead twenty years… What will this guy be buying? What will give him that feeling of freedom? What do you think?

DH: That's very good advice from Van. What is going to be of value in the future? The things that MATTER to people… That's both the things from their youth, and also the all-time classics.

As we say in sports collectibles, "the Hall of Fame is forever." Babe Ruth will always be Babe Ruth… Elvis will always be Elvis… a 1907 $20 High Relief gold coin – arguably the most beautiful coin ever made – is always going to be desirable.

SS: That's an interesting idea… There are the classics, and then are the ones that affected you in your life, the more modern-type things. This goes back to the concept of "beachfront property" that Van had really driven home with me, where you want to buy the Beatles, you don't want to buy the Monkees.

DH: Great analogy…

This was just the first five minutes of our podcast… David and Van share many secrets across our full 30-minute episode of Inside True Wealth. If you want to know the principles of making money outside of the stock market, I highly recommend you listen to the full show.

You can hear the full interview for free on our Inside True Wealth podcast at www.StansberryRadio.com. And you can learn more about David Hall and Van Simmons at www.DavidHall.com.

Source: Daily Wealth

[winston]

Why are these watches worth a million dollars?

By Benjamin Clymer

Source: CNN

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/27/world ... index.html

[winston]

This pink diamond is worth $28 MILLION!?

https://thehornnews.com/must-see-the-pi ... 8-million/

[winston]

A 12.03-carat blue diamond sold at Sotheby's in Geneva for a record $48.5 million.

A day earlier, the same Hong Kong billionaire spent $28.5 million across the river at Christie's for a 16.08-carat pink diamond.

He renamed both stones after his daughter, Josephine.

Source: The Guardian

[winston]

Crooked tycoon buys daughter $77M in diamonds at auctions

Joseph Lau was convicted last year by a Macau court of bribery and money laundering and sentenced to more than five years in prison.

But Lau, who didn't attend the trial, has remained free by avoiding travel to the former Portuguese colony, which doesn't have an extradition treaty with nearby Hong Kong.

Source: CBS News

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/blue-moon-p ... -auctions/

[winston]

Rare Books: There’s an Index for That

Source: Credit Suisse

https://www.thefinancialist.com/spark/r ... Newsletter

[behappyalways]

World's largest blue star sapphire 'found in Sri Lanka'
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35226276