I am not crazy about gold jewelry neither am I a great fan of loud and outrageous fashion sense. I’ve always believed that “less is more” and this is often reflected in the way I dress. The few valuable accessories I own are a pair of diamond and pearl studs (I wear this on a daily basis): a Rolex and a Cartier wristwatch, two gold pendants and a thin gold chain, which I wear occasionally if I remember.

Sometime ago I had gone to visit a friend at home. While rummaging through her jewelry case, I was amazed at the huge stash of gold jewelry she had on her. I remember asking why she was buying so much gold instead of investing the money on either the capital or money market? She gave me various answers but the one I’ll never forget is “Gold is a form of investment, you can always sell it a higher rate than the purchase price”.  

I don’t know about you but I know this for sure, I’m yet to meet someone who bought gold at the prevailing market rate and sold it some few months later at a higher rate than the prevailing market rate. I’ve always wondered why a lot of Nigerian ladies spend a lot of money in acquiring gold jewelry.

While I’m not averse to owning a set for the occasional Owanbe party, I also cringe at the thought of owning several pieces just for the purpose of showing off or other reasons that make ladies acquire gold. While on vacation recently, I was opportune to visit the gold market in a particular country and the owner of the shop took great pains to give me an insight into the international gold market and what determines the value of gold at any point in time. It was an eye opening experience.  From experience, most ladies who acquire gold jewelry only sell when they’re in financial straits and need cash urgently. At these times, gold is highly undervalued because you’re desperate to sell it at any reasonable amount, which could be lower or a bit higher than the price at which you purchased it.

Coupled with the security situation in the country, it really does not make a lot of sense flashing and keeping gold jewelry around the house. A better and safer alternative would be costume jewelry or beads. If it got stolen, you would not lose too much sleep over it and it’s more affordable than the real thing.