Precious metals like gold, silver and platinum are a good store of wealth and value. They provide a way for those with the means to store a wealth away from traditional fiat currency.
Buying and investing in gold coins or silver bars is a good way to do store wealth, but not always practical for everyone or every situation. Some choose a wearable wealth as an alternative option.
What is wearable wealth?
Buying and investing in wearable wealth follows the notion that if you don’t hold it, you don’t own it. It’s a way of converting precious metals like gold, silver and platinum into something that is wearable, transportable and concealable. It can take the form of jewelry or other objects that can be worn on the body.
Not all jewelry can be considered wearable wealth. Karat gold, such as 10k, 14k or 18k gold has an extremely high retail markup. The markup can sometimes be as high as 500% over the retail value of the gold. Traditional gold karat jewelry is not practical as a store of wealth if you lose a tremendous amount of value when you buy it.
Higher karat gold, such as 22k or 24k is a better alternative. The concept of having wearable wealth in 22k or 24k gold is not new. The idea has existed for centuries among the wealthy and elite.
In countries like India, gold has long been seen as an indicator of wealth. There is a cultural aspect to it. For many generations gold has been accumulated by wealthy families and passed down through families. Gold is considered as a way to stay financially secure. It is fairly common for the wealthy in India to hold as much as 20 percent of their net worth in gold.
The gifts primarily takes the form of jewelry. It is still very common in parts of India to give gifts of gold chains and rings to the groom’s family during a wedding celebration. The groom’s family will also gift gold jewelry to the bride.
The jewelry is often high purity karat gold in 22k. Twenty-Two karat gold is 91.6% pure gold which makes it suitable as an investment. Having an alloy of 8.4% of other metals provides some additional strength and hardness.
How can wearable wealth be used as a store of value?
The most common wearable wealth today still takes the form of jewelry. In today’s precious metals markets it is possible to find 24k gold shaped and formed into jewelry and other everyday objects.
Traditional 14k or 18k gold jewelry that is sold through retail jewelers at a high markup. This is not the case with 22k or 24k jewelry. High purity gold jewelry can be purchase through traditional bullion dealers at a much lower markup and at a low premium. The premium on 24 karat gold jewelry is often similar to those found on gold coins and gold bars.
Online bullion dealers offer a variety of jewelry items that are made from 24 karat gold. 24 karat gold bracelets, such as those offered by Money Metals Exchange can be bought for around 10% over the current gold spot price. This is a premium markup that can be found in gold coins, which is far less than those found with retail jewelry.
Benefits of Wearable Wealth
Wearable wealth comes with a variety of benefits. When you buy wearable wealth you are taking fiat currency and putting it into a physical asset that has value in virtually any currency. Having wearable wealth in the form of jewelry allows you to easily travel with assets.
If an emergency arises while you are traveling and you need quick access to cash, converting 24 karat jewelry into local fiat currency is often as easy as a quick stop at a reputable jewelry store, pawn shop or precious metals buyer.
For example, a situation could arise while you are traveling in a foreign country and you accidentally lose your wallet that contains your credit cards and cash on hand. Getting replacement credit cards could take days or longer. How do you survive in the meantime? If you’re traveling with a couple of 24k gold bracelets a quick stop at a local jeweler that buys precious metals and you can have enough cash on hand to get by until your replacement credit cards arrive.
Wearable wealth often takes the form of jewelry. When you are traveling internationally personal jewelry that is worn or carried may be considered exempt from customs declarations. This depends on the country and circumstances so it’s best to verify each country’s requirements before you travel.
In many cases, airport security agents may not notice or pay any attention to gold jewelry like they would if you were carrying cash, coins or bullion.
Not only does this make gold bullion jewelry easily transportable but it is also easily concealable in plain site. The jewelry can easily be worn, whether it takes the form of a necklace, bracelet, broach, hair clip or a button on your shirt.
When traveling in foreign countries it is good to know that you have some peace of mind in the event something happens.
Growing Popularity of Wearable Wealth
Along with the economic growth over the past few years investors are looking for ways to preserve wealth and hold onto their investment gains. Precious metals have long been considered a safe haven investment.
As investors become more savvy they are looking for alternative approaches to wealth preservation. Converting fiat currency into wearable wealth has become quite popular in recent years. Numerous companies have sprung up over the past few years to capitalize on this trend. One such company is Mené which creates contemporary jewelry and gifts in both 24k gold and platinum.
Their offerings include products for both women and men. In addition to traditional jewelry items such as rings, chains, bracelets and charms, Mené also has some unique products that can be discreet and concealable forms of wearable wealth.
Such as 24k gold men’s cufflinks that have a combined weight of 37.15 grams or roughly 1.2 troy ounces. They are stylish, functional and have the added benefit of being made from 24k gold or platinum. If the gold color feels too flashy they are also available in 24k platinum which has a fineness of .995.
Other offerings include buttons made from 24k gold or platinum. Buttons like these could easily be sewn onto a shirt and worn daily. The buttons come in two different sizes, one with a 22mm dimension that weighs 16.74 grams or roughly .54 troy ounces. The other is slightly smaller at 15mm with a weight of 6.895 grams or roughly .22 troy ounces.
These buttons certainly have some weight to them compared to modern plastic buttons. However, that weight also provides the peace of mind that having wearable wealth can provide. Gold buttons seem a little flashy on most dress shirts and might easily stand out to would be pickpockets or thieves. These buttons could easily be concealed by coating with some paint or lacquer.
In the event you need to exchange a few gold buttons for some local fiat the lacquer or paint could easily be removed with acetone or other paint removers leaving behind the .999 fine gold buttons. A standard dress shirt with 10 buttons could easily accommodate over 170 grams of gold which is roughly 5.5 troy ounces. It would be hard to conceal that much pure gold in plain site any other way.
