Rich Russians Turn to High-End Jewelry, Watches to Preserve Wealth

The Russian wealthy class, attempting to avoid the plummeting value of the ruble, are buying luxury jewelry and watches to retain the value of their savings, Bloomberg wrote Wednesday (March 2).

The sales for Bulgari’s Russian stores have been up in the last few days since the country invaded Ukraine and many other countries began piling on economic sanctions.

The Italian jeweler’s CEO, Jean-Christophe Babin, said it was having a positive effect on business.

“In the short term it has probably boosted the business,” he said. “How long it will last it is difficult to say, because indeed with the SWIFT measures, fully implemented, it might make it difficult if not impossible to export to Russia.”

He was referring to the restrictions against Russian bank access to the SWIFT payments system.

Babin added that the stores are “there for the Russian people and not for the political world,” adding that the business operates in a variety of countries that have “periods of uncertainty.”

Bulgari, which is owned by LVMH, is also joined by Richemont’s Cartier, which is selling jewelry and watches, and Swatch Group, which is selling its Omega timepieces still.

Bloomberg noted that jewelry can be a hedge against inflation.

Read more: Russian Consumers Not Panicked by Sanctions, Report Says

PYMNTS wrote that many Russian consumers aren’t really worried about the sanctions.

One source, going by the name Elmira, told Bloomberg that there was “no panic at stores or ATMs.”

She said while there wasn’t an easy solution, she “wasn’t about to run and buy up euros or dollars” just to spend money.

There was still a fair amount of panic though, with bank runs draining around $14 billion in just one day after the sanctions began to come down.

Source https://www.pymnts.com/news/international/2022/russian-consumers-not-panicked-by-sanctions-report-says/