Today's issue of Time magazine online includes an article entitled "Antiquities: The Hottest Investment."
Some quotes from the article include...
The good news is that it is possible for the individual investor to buy antiquities — and for a surprisingly moderate sum. According to John Ambrose, founder and director of Fragments of Time, a Boston-area antiquities dealer, they're within even a modest investor's reach. "For under $10,000 a year you could acquire two to four quality objects with good provenance that you could expect would not only hold their value but increase in value over time," he says. In the past, the increase was anywhere from 8 to 9% annually, but in recent years that figure has gone up.
In addition, there is an increased interest in art and antiquities as investment. "People have started to appreciate the fact that this is a field where you can still get high quality objects for a fraction of what you would spend on a contemporary art object, where speculation is the biggest element determining value," he says. Ambrose agrees: "The art market has gained status as a respected asset class."
So what should the novice collector know before jumping in and buying the first Greek vase they find? Ambrose advises that they study up on an era or object that they are truly interested in. He also suggests building rapport with a dealer. "A respected dealer will work with you...and they love to share their knowledge," he says.
Are there particular eras that the investor should look at now? "In terms of investments I do think there are still pockets of antiquities that are generally undervalued," says Ambrose, sounding as much like a stock broker as an art dealer. He lists Roman lamps, Roman bronze brooches, Greek pottery (especially south Italian Greek pottery) and Egyptian amulets, which, he says, are overlooked. "There can be fascinating intact examples," says Ambrose.
And, no matter how ornate a stock certificate might be, an Egyptian amulet is always going to look better in your living room display case. Read the full article in Time.
Congratulations on the great article in Time magazine, John!!
Posted by: Jack Holly | December 15, 2007 at 10:32 AM
Nice. Thanks for alerting me to this article! Continued success.
Posted by: Mr. Ancient | December 15, 2007 at 03:12 PM
You put the lime in the coocunt and drink the article up.
Posted by: Kalea | December 28, 2011 at 02:02 AM
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Posted by: rjuwwj | December 29, 2011 at 01:08 AM
I completely agree with all your reuattbls. My soapbox lately is reminding people just how important trusted relationships are. Your ROI might be measured in conversions or dollars and cents, but the fact is those conversions have to be relationships FIRST. And, if the relationships are only as good as a conversion, you might want to think about the longevity of how you're measuring your ROI.
Posted by: Augusta | April 25, 2012 at 10:53 PM
Great job Carl!! And to everyone who is siayng that Carl should have been black flagged for the wreck in turn 2 well, he isnt the only one who has wrecked somebody like that. Hello Kyle Busch wrecks people almost all the time.. What about Robby Gordon? He wrecks people on road courses a lot. Im not siayng its right but its racing.. Deal with it!!Great race, one of the best in my opinion.Carl is a really good driver and he deserved this win!!
Posted by: Alic | April 27, 2012 at 11:41 PM