Here at AJF we have a recurring daydream of finding contemporary jewelry masterpieces in antique shops and garage sales. Not only are we slimmer and better dressed in this fantasy, but the people selling the jewelry have no idea what it is. Swooping in and making a canny purchase, we celebrate our good fortune, pour a strong gin and tonic, and sit back while the price spirals upwards.

Well, it turns out that this might not be the smartest way to fund our retirement after all. In his book The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art and Auction Houses, Don Thompson writes that even if you get lucky and manage to buy cheap the one work and artist that will make staggering gains in value, you still don’t usually outperform the stock market. One of his examples is Victor and Sally Ganz, who purchased a Picasso for $7,000 in 1941, and then sold it in 1997 for $48.4 million. While that appears to be a staggering increase in price, Thompson suggests that: ‘To put that gain in perspective, had the Ganzes invested the $7,000 in a portfolio of small-company stocks in 1941, the stock would have been worth $46 million in 1997. If we include insurance costs of about $4.9 million over the period they had the Picasso, the stock investment would have produced a greater profit.’ And then of course there is the risk of buying the artist and artwork that doesn’t survive the fortunes of the future in good shape, leaving you with a work that is actually worth less than what you paid for it.

All of which makes us think that is is lucky that jewellery looks pretty and you can wear it. (Maybe it’s not such a bad thing being a subset of the useful arts after all.) Still, part of a healthy contemporary jewelry scene is a flourishing secondary market, in which the best contemporary jewelry gets bought and sold at auction. Wright Auctions are selling some nice pieces by Art Smith, Sam Kramer, Harry Bertoia and Margaret de Patta in their Modern Design auction on tonight (23rd March 2010) in Chicago. (To view the auction catalogue, click here.) Indeed, the auction house has played up the jewelry component, noting that ‘This bi-annual auction of mid-century modern will showcase a collection of modernist jewelry including pieces by Sam Kramer and a collection of works by Art Smith. From a single original owner and never before been on the market, the works by Smith attest to his mastery of metal working. Works by Harry Bertoia and a selection of designs for Memphis by Ettore Sottsass, Peter Shire and Michele de Lucci will also be featured alongside other noteworthy Italian, French and American designs.’