Argentines face high prices by selling their jewelry and heritage belongings Economy

Due to the recession and the decline in economic activity, Argentines are forced to sell jewelry that has been passed down from generation to generation, from grandfather’s wristwatch to grandmother’s wedding ring, in an attempt to save money to cover their expenses.

Agence France-Presse quoted Mariana (63 years old), who went to a gold merchants’ center in the capital, Buenos Aires, to sell a watch that her grandfather had given to her father upon his graduation: “When you are drowning in debt, you put emotion aside.”

Mariana, who did not want to reveal her full name, confirms that the pension she receives as a former public employee is no longer sufficient to cover her expenses in light of inflation, which has reached 72% since the beginning of the year and 276% on an annual basis.

She explains that the amount she will receive from the watch after selling it will be used to pay “daily expenses and late health insurance payments.”

While not a single customer entered a shoe store near the gold market for hours, hundreds queued in front of El Tasador, one of the main stores for buying jewelry in the heart of Buenos Aires, where several signs were displayed reading, “We buy gold.”

Increase working hours

Natalia, one of the four appraisers in the store who did not want to reveal her last name for security reasons, said, “A large number of people have come recently, I think because of what the country is going through. They are people who owned pieces that they may not have planned to sell, but they decided to do so because “They can no longer make ends meet.”

She added that the store makes more than 300 purchases daily, three times what it was a year ago, saying, “We increased the number of employees and working hours to be able to keep up with the new pace of business.”

This trend is reinforced by television shows and videos published on YouTube with enticing titles and encouraging viewers to go and sell their gold pieces.

But the main driver behind this wave is the erosion of purchasing power stifled by chronic inflation and the collapse of the value of the peso last December, which in recent months prompted some Argentines to use their savings. Now, they’ve turned to their jewelry.

“A bitter golden age”

For his part, Daniel, a 56-year-old unemployed accountant, said that he enters the most modest stores to try to sell a silver key ring, “The situation is complicated, the cost of life in Argentina is very high,” but it seems that the item he tried to sell will remain in his possession, as most of the stores that he tried to sell refused. He bought it at a time when someone offered to take it for a small sum.

Gul Carlos, who runs a small jewelry store, said he had a constant flow of customers, but none of them came to buy.

“They bring anything to be valued, especially at the end of the month, when the bills arrive,” he added.

In turn, Natalia said, “The classic thing (they come to sell) is the wedding ring, but they also bring jewelry from the Victorian era, from a beautiful era, which they got from their grandparents. They are unique pieces.”

Despite poverty, which officially affects 42% of the population, it is uncommon in Argentina for modest families to own jewelry.

Natalia explained that a few decades ago it was common for men to have gold cufflinks, and for women to be given a gold watch when they turned 15, adding, “Gold has always been sold. What has changed is the reason for selling it.”

She continued, “In the past, it was sold to redesign a house, buy a car, or throw a party. But today, those who want to sell say: Because I cannot cover my expenses and because of the high bills, or because I am unemployed.”