“The classic is the ring, but they also carry Victorian, Belle Epoque jewelry that their grandparents or great-grandparents had, one-of-a-kind pieces”
In the recession Argentinawith inflation at 72% year-to-date and 276% year-on-year – there is one sector that is booming: that of buying and selling jewelery – often family heirlooms – in pawn shops.
The liquidation of family jewels – grandfather’s watch, or great-grandmother’s ring – is now becoming necessary for more and more citizens, in order to be able to make ends meet or pay off their debts.
The trend is fueled by TV shows and YouTube videos, with names like “El valor de tus sueños” (“The price of your dreams”), mixes of reality shows and advertising.
In the “El Tasador“, from the best-known stores, dozens of customers are waiting in the lounge, vaguely art deco style. The current interval El Tasador makes approx 300 transactions per daythree times more than a year ago.
If the appraisal is final and the parties deem it favorable, they will walk away with the value of the jewelry or any other valuable item they wish to sell in cash.
“People who have pieces that they probably didn’t plan to sell decided to do it because they can’t make ends meet anymore. We increased the staff and extended the opening hours because the world is crowded and we can’t serve him,” said Natalia, one of the store’s four appraisers.
“The classic is the ring, but they also carry Victorian, Belle époque jewelry that their grandparents or great-grandparents had, one-of-a-kind pieces“, Natalia reveals.
The peak of divestments “happens at the end of every month, when the bills come in,” observed Carlos, a jeweler, also speaking on condition of anonymity.
42% of the population is in poverty
Although poverty affects 42% of the population according to official figures, it is not uncommon in Argentina even for households with medium to low incomes to have gold jewelry.
“In the 1970s, a lot of people had access to gold, whether it was rings, or for men cufflinks or brooches, or for girls a gold watch when they turned fifteen,” recalls the appraiser.
People have long stopped wearing jewelry on the street for safety reasons. Instead, he sells them.
“Gold always sells,” Natalia said.
“What changes is the ‘why.’ Before it was to finance a project, to renovate, to buy a car, to throw a party… Today, it’s because “I don’t make a month”, or “the bills have increased”, or “I’ve run out of money”. work,” he added.
“When you’re drowning in debt, you put emotion aside”
63-year-old Mariana, in a pawnshop in the commercial district of Onse, sold a clock, a gift from her grandfather to her father for the completion of his studies. The pension she receives, after a lifetime as an employee in the judicial system, is no longer enough to cover her expenses.
With the money he got, he will be able to pay “current expenses and outstanding health insurance premiums.”
“When you’re drowning in debt, you put emotion aside,” he told AFP
“The situation is difficult, life in Argentina is very expensive,” sighs Daniel, an unemployed accountant, 56, who went to pawn shops to get an estimate. silver key chainbut leaves disappointed: they recommend it to him price of a metro ticket (60 cents of the euro)…
Photos from El Tasador’s Facebook
Source :Skai
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