I decided to create this blog when I saw so many of my friends and acquaintances lose the better part of their investment portfolios due to their stock market investments now laid to waste through the careless mismanagement and lack of diligent oversight regarding the stock market.
Perhaps I was one of the lucky ones, but my grandfather taught me that the best investments were in something you could physically keep...things like precious metals and art, and even, in some cases, memorabilia.
Grandfather de Beers lived through the Great Depression, but was left with little faith in the good will of bankers. He did not dislike them personally, but he felt that they fed off the profits created by hardworking producers of actual goods.
At one point, when he had lost everything he had worked for so many years to build, he found himself practically broke, but with an opportunity to go into a potentially profitable business with a good friend. In order to come up with his share of the necessary funds, he and Grandmother de Beers put her collection of Royal Doulton up as collateral.
Even during the hardest of economic times, such collectibles have value.
Through hard work and ingenuity, the business was a resounding success, - and the lesson was not lost upon my grandfather.
When I was born (the only female of all his children and grandchildren), he was determined to begin 'my' investment portfolio in collectibles with something truly unique, and with the guidance of my grandmother's exquisite good taste, he chose Lladro porcelain figurines.
My own love of Lladro is an extension of the appreciation I was taught for fine things of superior quality, that will increase in value over time.
I know that I was lucky, but if I can help even one person to see the intrinsic value in investing in collectibles such as Lladro, as opposed to the electronic transactions trumped up by investment bankers and stock market brokers, I will feel I have shared the valuable knowledge I was privileged to receive from Grandfather de Beers.
And remember, every collection begins with just one piece.
