Amber market is getting better

Amber is a precious organic gem, known as the "lightest jewelry," has a very high ornamental and medicinal value, in recent years, amber began to spread in the country, prices have steadily increased. Amber is an ornamental art since ancient times. It is a kind of organic colloidal turpentine that came out of the bark of the pine tree ten thousand years ago. It is a natural fossil that has been gradually buried and condensed into the earth through the movement of the earth's crust. The interior often contains various insects such as spiders, ants, mosquitoes and seeds, charred leaves, and the like.

Mr. Zhao spent 6,000 yuan in 2010 and bought an amber ornament Buddha. A few days ago, there was an expert who wanted to buy this ornament for a price of 12,000 yuan, but was rejected by Mr. Zhao: “The amber market is bullish, and this is a boutique carved with rare red beeswax in amber, which will be appreciated in the future. Huge, it's not worth it now."

In 2007, the sales volume of amber art in major cities across the country grew rapidly, with total sales of 4 billion yuan, which was 1.5 to 2 times of 2006. However, the production of amber will not soar because of the increase in sales. It is reported that the origin of amber is mainly distributed in the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean coast, and some open-pit coal mines in Fushun, Liaoning Province, China are also occasionally produced. In addition to limited production, amber carving is different from common jade carving. It takes a long time to cultivate a qualified craftsman, and it takes several dozens of processes to complete a carved piece.

Industry insiders said that because of this, for a long period of time in the future, the collection and investment value of natural amber art will continue to increase. It is expected that the price of amber raw materials will continue to rise in the future, with an annual increase rate of around 15%. Coupled with labor and other costs, the retail price of amber artworks may increase by 20% to 25% each year.

Market is getting better

It is understood that there have been few collectors of amber art in the past. Until the mid-1980s, with the prevalence of religious heritage markets, amber began to become popular in Singapore, Japan and other places, and collectors are increasing. In recent years, many European and American art lovers have also joined the ranks of competing for competition, prompting Amber to become the new darling of the collectibles market, and the market prices have been rising.

At an art auction held in Taiwan in 1992, a fine-quality amber bead was eventually sold for NT$1.2 million, causing a sensation in the international art market.

In recent years, the high-priced amber varieties that have fallen out of the Southeast Asian auction market include: an 18th-century amber carving Buddha and Lion pendant sold for 27,600 pounds (approximately ***35 million yuan); a late Qing Dynasty amber cowboy The ornaments were sold for RM 286,000; a 17th-century amber taiwan was sold for HK$121,000. At present, the transaction rates and prices of natural amber artworks auctioned at various domestic large-scale auctions are lower than those of other jades. Generally, the transaction prices of amber beads and bracelets in the Qing Dynasty were mostly between 20,000 yuan and 50,000 yuan. In the collectibles market, the transaction price of amber art is basically equivalent to this level. Due to the drop in amber transaction prices at home and abroad, some amber collectors in Southeast Asian countries have started to pay attention and gradually entered the domestic auction market.

After China's reform and opening up, amber gradually entered the vision of collectors, and some prophets were aware of the "first step" and started the folk Taobao. In recent years, some amber boutique prices have continued to hit a new high. Amber pots, pens, bracelets, beads, etc., produced a price of several hundred thousand yuan, even more than a million yuan. Some jewellery stores in Yiwu have various kinds of amber for sale. Prices range from several thousand to several hundred thousand yuan depending on the variety and texture. The best amber is more than a thousand yuan per gram. Domestic amber art collection is getting better.

Functional scarce resources

The main reason for the increase in the value of amber crafts is its special raw materials. In addition to its good ornamental value, amber has medicinal value. According to medical records, amber can calm the nerves, relieve bleeding, and relieve water loss. Treatment of convulsions and epilepsy, convulsions, insomnia, hematuria, urination, women's amenorrhea, postpartum stop abdominal pain, bruises and so on. Zhu Danxi wrote in “Supplement of Materia Medica Yanyi”: “Amber is yang. This ancient party uses urine for the benefit of the spleen and soil, the spleen can transport, and the lungs decline, so the urine can pass through. , resulting in the pain of its dry knot." In the Ming Dynasty, everybody Li Shizhen described the medicinal properties of amber in detail in “Compendium of Materia Medica” (37). The amber was sweet, flat, and non-toxic. Indications: Zhenxin Mingmu, hemostatic muscle. To date, amber is still one of the precious herbs in modern Chinese medicine and is widely used in reassurance and treatment of urinary tract diseases.

The data also shows that some amber products from the deep sea also have good absorption of harmful radiation emitted by modern appliances such as computers, televisions and precision instrument tables.

Since amber is the "essence" of condensation of natural substances, the contained elements can promote the body's metabolism, remove toxins, and increase the resistance of human cells to disease and anti-aging ability. According to a boss who wears an amber bracelet for a long time, wearing this thing is an auspicious and auspicious thing. Second, he can relieve his back pain and shoulder periarthritis and other conditions and play a role in health care.

Due to the scarcity of amber's many functions and resources, its collection value has become increasingly prominent. Industry sources said that in Europe and other places long ago, amber was as valuable as gold and silver and became a symbol of noble status.

How to avoid investment risks

According to Chen, an owner of an amber wholesale store in China, currently there are only three regular amber manufacturers nationwide, but there are more than 10 large agents, and the rest are small plus workshops. The amber distribution center is mainly concentrated in Guangdong Province, of which Guangzhou City has the largest amber market in the country. There are currently 5 to 6 professional wholesalers, but no well-known brands have yet been formed.

According to a seller on the Taobao website called “Blessing Amber”, investing in collecting amber artworks must first understand amber. The best collection is to grow from small to large. Step by step from the original stone to the quality, don’t think of it in one step. Learn more about different origins, different styles of amber. When you have a certain understanding of amber, you can choose some works that are large in weight, carved in natural patterns and shapes, or collections of ancient garland with ancient creatures or plants. It is worth noting that the collection of fine amber is even more valuable. Instead of spending the same amount of money on the purchase of 10 ordinary carved pieces, it is better to buy a fine piece because the latter has a large appreciation space. "As an investment, it's best not to buy trinkets made from scraps. Although it can be worn daily, it lacks investment value. If you don't know much about amber, but you want to invest in a collection, you'd better The seller asks for a certificate from the national authority, so the risk will be relatively small."

At the same time, he also reminded ordinary investors that the amber art market is bullish, and that while bringing revenue to collectors, investment risks are also increasing. “Ordinary consumers can’t buy in large quantities because of amber price increases, because there are more and more false amber on the market. There are plenty of transparent amber in the pedestrian street arts and crafts shops around, and some of them are also sandwiched with insects, priced from 30. RMB is 100 yuan. In fact, these amber are synthetic plastic and resin crafts."