Hermés Handbags Top Douglas Elliman | Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index, up 17% in 2020

According to   Douglas Elliman |  Knight Frank’s 2021 Wealth Report , Herm é s handbags have , for the second year in a row, topped the Luxury Investment Index with prices  up  17% in 2020 , according to data supplied by AMR , a leading market researcher.  “Sectors like handbags are weathering  the storm better than higher-value assets like the top end of the  art  market.” – Andrew Shirley, editor of  T he Wealth Report An established online auction presence and the appetite for relatively affordable luxury pick-me-ups during the pandemic, particularly in Asia where many bag collectors are based, helped the asset class retain pole position.   “The market for luxury collectables, which relies on the auction market for much of its profile, is clearly badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Andrew Shirley, editor of The Wealth Report at Knight Frank said, “But some sectors like handbags are weathering the storm better than higher-value assets like the top end of the art market where no painting sold for over US$100 million for the first time in number of years.” Fine Wine Com es in Second Place Following a year of consolidation, wine markets experienced strong growth in 2020, up 13% compared to a year earlier  according to  Wine Owners which pulls together the Fine Wine Icons Index .   U nlike the global financial crisis, the wine market has held its nerve  throughout the pandemic,  merchants did not mar k down prices and the market has  been stable.    Unlike fine wine, the Knight Frank Whisky Index, compiled by Rare Whisky 101, lost some momentum in 2020, dropping by 3.5%. Against many other investments that doesn’t seem too much of a decline but when compared to 2018,  when  the value of whisky rose  by circa 40%,  making it the best performing luxury asset class in the K F LII – it points to the volatility of ultra-rare-top-end whisky as an investment. Art Doesn’t Fair Well The art market also  didn’t fair quite so well with the auction tracking AMR All-Art Index dropping 11% in 2020. But with so many factors impacting the market, there was no single reason for the fall in average values.    “One of the biggest changes was a shift towards private sales. The volume of all sales that were publicly auctioned at Sotheby’s and Christie’s were down 26% and 46%, respectively.”  – Sebastian Duthy of AMR “For obvious reasons one of the biggest changes was a shift towards private sales at the major auction houses last year,” said Sebastian Duthy of AMR. “The volume of all sales that were publicly auctioned at Sotheby’s and Christie’s were down 26% and 46% on 2019, respectively. The problem was compounded by the slowing the supply of quality works as consigners who could afford to wait, preferred to sit it out at home. Having said that, there was still plenty of enthusiasm from buyers. With a new emphasis on home working, there was a surge in demand from collectors sprucing up their homes.” Download the full 2021 Wealth Report here.