“A Diamond Is Forever” – De Beers Own Slogan
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Through a rich and diverse career spanning over 30 years as an
investment broker, Savasen has built up an unbeatable reputation in
Investment broker, art
dealer, diamond expert... a man for all seasons, and certainly if you believe
that finances change as quickly as the seasons, and therefore the need for good
financial control. Savasen's background is so rich
and diverse that comparisons or a common thread become difficult; though
looking deeper, there is something that shines through strongly: Hans Olof
Savasen is a master at matching a product to an available market. And, if you
ask any financial or marketing expert worth his salt, you'd be told that this
single ability virtually encompasses all that they deal with.
Matching a market to a
product, though, is not a knack easily gained, and Savasen developed his
expertise in probably one of the hardest markets of all: European fine art.
Tastes in art, the needs of buyers, trends in the market, and the final demands
of vendors, are so difficult to match, that the dealer needs to have a
completely `movable' knowledge of the market. Which artists are `in', what
prices can be asked, what dealers are looking for a particular product, and the
realistic price range that can be attached to protect both the dealer and the
end buyer who's making the investment, albeit looking for a return over a long
period.
Savasen's expertise was developed
during his career as a photographer, in which he was continually on the fringe
of the art world. Over the years he developed this talent of matching buyers to
products but, as he explained, the difficulty of art as a pure investment is
that buyers become attached to paintings, and so aren't willing to offload them
when perhaps the market dictates that it's sensible to. Savasen himself has become
pleasantly trapped by this attachment to certain paintings, which is why the
walls of his home are all but covered with valuable art, including pieces from
Picasso, Goetz, Tobiasse and Chagall.
Because of this,
Savasen was asked by many of the people he handled substantial art investments
for to provide products for investment that were less personal and so could be
more readily offloaded onto the available market. The diamond and precious gem
market was, at this time, offering the highest investment returns, and through
several years and countless transactions, Savasen also built up an expertise in
this market, to the extent that he was featured strongly on Swedish TV and the
press.
The nickname 'Mr. Diamond',
in fact, stayed with Savasen when he expanded and moved his investment service
to
Text by John
Matthews / Baleares Home & Living.
offers a unique investment service
covering two specialist areas:
1. Diamonds
2. Purchase/Sale of Internationally renowned artworks
Of these two, the first is perhaps the least familiar
to the majority of investors and the area which I consider to be most
interesting at the current time. I should briefly like to describe how we
operate in the diamond field and encourage you to think about this as an
investment possibility.
The first point I would stress is the importance of reliability and experience
when dealing with Diamonds. This is where MDI stands above many other so called
diamond dealers. This business has developed over a span of several years. From
one office in
At MDI we would advise potential investors to put money into a varied portfolio
of diamonds rather than one single stone... as with all investments, be they
equities or otherwise, the "Don't put all your eggs in one basket"
refrain holds true for gems.
I feel that a sensible period to contemplate when investing in diamonds is
preferably 5 years with 3 years being the absolute minimum.
Having stressed the importance of being aware of certain risks involved in
investing I should like to say why I feel diamonds are especially interesting
as investment tools.
- With diamonds there is international liquidity. A diamond backed by a reputable certificate and seal is saleable in virtually all parts of the world.
- Diamonds enjoy freedom when it comes to government controls... they are not nearly as heavily regulated as paper instruments.
- The scarcity element: Thousands of years have to pass before a diamond is created and the mining process is arduous. It is perhaps surprising to note that current technology necessitates the extraction and processing of approximately 250 tons of mineral to obtain a good quality diamond.
- There is of course the "added value" feature of investing in diamonds, that of sentimental/romantic connotations.
Lastly, diamonds are
an easy and effective way to transport great financial worth in a small
inconspicuous manner.
The above are some of the fundamental unchangeable facts (scarcity, durability,
transportability, etc.,) which lend weight to opinions opting for investment in
diamonds.
Perhaps the most frequent doubt about investing in diamonds is not the
uncertainty about how much prices will increase or drop, but more the lack of
confidence in knowing exactly what underlying asset you're buying... i.e.
ascertaining whether you are buying a true stone or sheer fake.
Time here is not on my side.. so
I will not attempt to explain all the "ins and outs" of diamond
analysis. There are obviously numerous tests carried out to establish the
quality and true worth of a stone.
That is the reason why we on MIROL
Diamond Invest are using independent Gemmological Institute doing the
classification work for us. All the diamonds sold by MDI will be followed by a
Certificate and be sealed. Also note, that the certificate-number will be laser
engraved in the Girdle on the diamond. We on MDI never classified our own
diamonds.
At MDI we have a wide range of professional instruments which allow the
determination of precious stones' worth. One highly important factor I need to
stress is that to examine a stone professionally, the stone needs to be loose
(for reasons of light refraction, distinguishing marks are often disguised by
the metal mounting of a ring or clasp, etc.). This point, although: obvious is
so often overlooked bye "would be" experts. Without pitching
criticism against many operators in the jewelry
trade, I have to say that any jewelers (and there are
quite a few like these) who believes he can reliably and professionally
ascertain the value of a diamond when it is not loose, is making a grave
mistake and his "opinion" on the stone's quality can only be termed
as dubious.
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