Precious stones bought as an investment could lose 70 pct – In Kuwait buyers are of two types

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KUWAIT CITY, Oct 1: Many people who bought precious stones as fallback for the rainy days have been caught unawares by the current market situation whereby they could lose up to 70 percent of the money they spent on acquiring the precious stones, especially since they cost not less than three-digit figures compared to gold which can be bought at a single-digit cost, reports Al-Rai daily.

According to the Executive Director of Kuwait Casts Company Rajab Hamid, 90 percent of precious stones in Kuwaiti market are diamond.

Other types available in the market include emerald, sapphire, agate, turquoise and aquamarine. He revealed that the major purpose behind buying precious stones in Kuwait is to serve as jewelry, but the consumers always consider precious stones as valuable assets, which he considers as a wrong notion.

Hamid stated that reselling precious stones in no distant time reduces the rate of loss or accomplishes minor profit, but the loss could be as high as 70 percent at the long run, adding that selling back the precious stones where they were bought reduces the rate of loss but it is worse when resold elsewhere.

He said, “The idea of investing in precious stones in Kuwait is not worth it because it requires a special bourse that is not available here but can be found in places like Singapore or Dubai”.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of Kuwaiti Gold and Jewelry Traders Association Nasser Al-Sayegh explained that those who buy precious stones in Kuwait are of two types. One type of buyers buys them for personal use, while the other for investment purpose.

However, not all types of precious stones available in Kuwaiti market are worthy of investment. He stressed that the best types have special specifications that can be identified based on personal experience and those are profitable when the buyer wants to resell.

Al-Sayegh indicated that the rate of dealing in precious stones is higher than the gold market when the value is put into consideration especially since the cheapest diamond costs around KD 1,000. He revealed, “The department that values precious stones at Ministry of Commerce and Industry is not competent and do not have the right capabilities to evaluate them. Even the precious stones laboratory in the ministry has not obtained the ISO certificate”.

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