Tonight's Antique Road Show

[LML]

When I watch it....which I usually do.....I often end up feeling like crying. My dad was a "pack rat" who kept the barn just full of things. After he died...at 92 years of age....my mom had everything hauled away. You wouldn't believe how many times I see things on ARS that were part of my dad's "collection."
My retirement would be much more comfortable today if only I had those things back.

[NYChistorygal]

Originally Posted by azoria

Yes, I am aware of that.

But my point really was that the value of some items are local and others are universal.

You'd get nothing at auction in Helsinki for a rusty US Civil War belt buckle. However a beautiful piece of well made jewelry has value worldwide and retains that value forever. And I think that jewelry is consistently undervalued on the Roadshow.

And going back to the topic here, the carved rhino horns were very valuable at the time of filming because rich Chinese collectors are currently paying top price for their antique art objects. But when the next group of uber wealthy comes along, they may not care for old Chinese rhino horns and the value will crash. Carved rhino horns are not a universally coveted commodity.

Jewelry may go up and down but it will never crash.

You are confusing collecting with investing. Antique collectors collect what they like, hoping that they increase in value, but not planning on making a profit from the items.. Value is usually secondary.

If you are buying something solely in the hopes that it will be worth something more in the future, that is an investment purchase.

[azoria]

No I'm talking about the appraisals I've seen on Antiques Roadshow.