In November 2001, I bought a Tiffany 18K "Bicycle Chain" bracelet weighing 1.39 tr oz (1.13 tr oz AGW valued at $4,720 using spot gold price today of $4,521). The retail price was $2,100. Because I have a business account with Tiffany which grants a 15% discount, I paid $1,785. The links are solid, not that hollow crap like sold elsewhere.

There is a listing of an identical bracelet on eBay for $8,480 by an individual in Austin TX:

Tiffany "Bicycle Chain" Bracelet on eBay



That's 4.75 times what I paid in 2001, and my wife has been able to wear it for 25 years and will continue to enjoy it for years to come, and one of our beautiful granddaughters will eventually inherit it. A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

There is another one for sale at $8,250 at Tyson's Watch & Jewelry Exchange in the DC Tyson's Corner suburban area:

Second Listing

Tiffany no longer makes this bracelet, but based on similar items in their current repertoire, it would retail new for about $15,000.

The same degree of appreciation applies to other Tiffany and Cartier items I have bought and "over-paid" for in the past.

I guess I was just paying for over-priced names when I could have bought cheaper junk from your backroom hustler in Chicago and "saved money", and lived a more reasonable, pedestrian, lackluster life, huh?