How great is the collection potential of jadeite? An indispensable highlight in Asia’s top auctions!

We often say that jade has a high collection value, but how high is it? Maybe many people don’t have an intuitive impression.

Today, let’s take a look at the real investment and collection potential of jadeite from its performance in the international high-end auction market in recent years.

▲Hong Kong Auction Center——Hong Kong Laishan Building

At present, the international auction market has three major centers: Hong Kong, China, New York, USA, and Geneva, Europe.

Among them, the auction market in Hong Kong, China serves as a jewelry weathervane for the entire Asian market. Its special jewelry auctions in spring and autumn every year attract all the attention in the industry.

● Hong Kong jewelry auction market trends in the past decade ●

In the 2010s, the overall auction market in Hong Kong, China was booming and very prosperous. It was initially divided between the two major international auction houses, Sotheby's and Christie's , which each occupied 43.44% and 56.56% of the market share .

Along with the rapid growth of China's economy, the overall business of auction houses in Hong Kong, China, has been booming, reaching its peak in 2014, and then fell sharply.

Similarly, the jewelry business has been growing year by year since 2010, reaching a peak in 2014 (HK$3,781,086,480), and has been declining year by year since then. By 2019, the total market value was HK$1,958,242,960, which is roughly the same as the total market value in 2010 (HK$1,915,246,625).

Judging from the trend, the jewelry auction market in Hong Kong, China in the past decade has roughly formed a cycle. At its peak, the market size almost doubled.

At the same time, the landscape of the auction market in Hong Kong, China has also changed. In addition to Christie's and Sotheby's , three emerging auction houses have joined the market, namely Hong Kong's local Tiancheng International Auction House and foreign Poly (Hong Kong, China) Auction House and China Guardian (Hong Kong, China) Auction House.

According to data from 2019, the five auction houses, Christie's, Sotheby's, Tiancheng, Poly and China Guardian, accounted for 38%, 31%, 10%, 14% and 7% of the market share respectively. The market was no longer divided by two international giants, but has now changed to Christie's and Sotheby's accounting for 69% of the market share, while the three new generation auction houses share 31%.

The addition of fresh blood has also made the jewelry auction market extremely active during its growth process.

● The performance of jadeite in the Hong Kong auction market ●

Jade is an indispensable item at auctions in Hong Kong, China.

Compared with the old business, although jadeite is also among the gemstones that must be auctioned every season, its business proportion (quantity) is ultimately not as large as that of diamonds.

At auction houses in Hong Kong, jade is the highlight and the largest category of jewelry auctioned every season. The proportion of jadeite ranges from 30% to 60%, and is generally between 40% and 50% . Many fine products have emerged from them, creating quite impressive sales.

In the "Magnificent Elegance" special auction held by Poly Auction Hong Kong in July this year, a rare and outstanding natural Burmese jadeite bead, ruby ​​and diamond necklace was sold for HK$23.6 million, winning the top prize of the auction, which is rare in auction history.

▲A list of the highest prices for jadeite at auction houses in Hong Kong, China from 2010 to 2019

The emergence of a large number of high-quality products has pushed the price of jade to new highs and refreshed people's understanding of jade. Among them, the most eye-catching is the green jadeite. Not only are the colors breathtaking, but the quantities are also huge and the quality is excellent, often breaking jadeite transaction records. From the data in the above table , we can see that the price of green bead necklaces is about twice as high as that of bracelets and pendants.

Judging from the composition of buyers, China has now become one of the largest markets for luxury jewelry in the world. The main buyers in the auction market have shifted to Chinese buyers. Therefore, in order to enter the Chinese market, many international luxury brands have specially launched products that are in line with Chinese culture , such as jade jewelry launched by Cartier, Bulgari and other brands.

● Expected Outlook ●

This is a turbulent era, full of challenges and opportunities, and the market will seek a new balance amidst the shocks. In the domestic market, the consumption tastes of the new generation born in the 1980s, 1990s and even 2000s will also change the composition and demands of auction customers and impact the existing auction distribution.

In the coming years, jadeite will continue to be a highlight in Asia's jewelry auction market.

As a typical investment project and the best embodiment of wealth, jade jewelry has always been deeply rooted in people's hearts. With the continuous increase in the number of wealthy people in China and the continuous increase in personal wealth, the market will surely become more prosperous and lively, and the mid- to high-end market will also develop rapidly. This is the potential of jadeite collection.

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