Jewelry, War, and Power in the 21st Century

As long as we have had history, we have had jewelry. Historically jewelry was used as a tool and it remains so in the 21st Century. In the international sphere, jewelry can be a welcoming gift, a statement of solidarity, a bribe, or a plea. Jewelry is also a convenient way to transfer, exchange, and carry wealth.

In times of war, jewelry is an asset that governments can gain or lose.

In October 2023, five smugglers were arrested in Spain for trying to sell Ukrainian national treasures crafted between 700 and 300 BCE. These gold treasures were stolen from a Kyiv museum in 2013 and are estimated to be worth $64M. They include an ornate gold belt with dangling gold seeds, two pairs of gold chandelier earrings, a pair of gold flat hoop earrings, a stunning carved red stone pendant in a gold setting, and four gold, torc-like necklaces, each finer than the previous. Five countries worked together on behalf of Ukraine to apprehend the offenders and recover the national treasures.

Politicians and Nations hold treasure, sometimes as jewelry. In most instances, these jewelry gifts exist in a legal gray zone. In some cases, jewelry gifts are added to National Treasuries. At other times, individuals retain jewelry gifts, and sometimes the jewelry gifts are illegal.

Former Brazil President Bolsonaro knows the value of jewelry as a political tool. He and his wife received a diamond jewelry set and two luxury watches from visiting Saudi Officials during his term as President. On a trip to Brazil from his home in Florida, Bolsonaro carried the jewelry valued at $3M and about $70k from the sale of the watches. He forgot to mention the jewelry and money when he went through customs. The items were valued at roughly 16 million Brazilian reales. Should these gifts belong to Bolsonaro or Brazil?

Nations and Politicians are not the only people to amass wealth in jewelry. Individuals buy heirloom jewelry to store familial wealth and pass it on.

Since 2015, China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) has been actively repatriating Chinese treasures held in international museums, including jewelry. At the same time, the Chinese population has taken a shine to gold jewelry. In 2023, the Chinese population increasingly invested in heirloom gold pieces, like pendants, prompting some to ask, “Where is China getting gold?”

The Chinese government is buying gold, primarily from Switzerland, and then crafting a portion of that 24k gold into jewelry to sell to the Chinese population. It’s an effective way for the Chinese nation to distribute wealth, and ensure it does not leave the country.

Heirloom jewelry is a great way to provide the next generation with direct transfer assets. In India, cultural practices encourage gathering heirloom jewelry. Gold heirloom jewelry is passed down from mother to daughter as part of the wedding tradition.

Not everyone has access to jewelry wealth. Not everyone has access to daily necessities. The inequality in the world can lead to theft and, on a larger scale, war.

In Germany, in 2019, twenty-three pieces of jewelry valued at $129M were stolen from The Green Vault Museum in Dresden.

The Green Vault is one of the world’s oldest museums. It was established in 1723 and contains the treasury of Augustus the Strong of Saxony, comprising around 4,000 objects of gold, precious stones and other materials.
Kirsten Grieshaber of AP News

In May 2023, five men in their twenties were tried for The Green Vault theft and associated crimes. Four of the men were handed down sentences of four to six years. One man was acquitted. The reason the men gave for stealing the jewelry was “to get rich.”

Modern inequality and oppression lead to modern theft and war, but it’s an old story.

During WWII, the Jewish population and entire nations were robbed of their wealth. Numerous collectors have retained that wealth in private collections. These collectors use unsavory art-world contacts to sell stolen goods at private auctions. Over time, many of these fraudulent rings have been exposed, and stolen goods have been reunited with survivor’s descendants. At the same time, many treasures have not been returned, and even more remain lost.

War and Colonialism have stolen wealth in the form of jewelry from many populations. Douglas Latchford was a British art dealer and smuggler who died in 2020. In 2023 courts ordered a pre-Cambodian treasure trove, including various pieces of jewelry and a splendid gold crown, restored to Cambodia. Despite this success, the Latchford family retains possession of other ill-gotten treasures from previous British colonies and colony-adjacent countries.

In October 2023, Irish politician, Mary Lou McDonald said many know “all too well the pain and tragedy of colonization, occupation, and dispossession” … we understand “the playbook of the colonizer, the occupier, and the oppressor.”

It is people from countries like these, that must lead the way forward. They know what it is to be colonized and repressed, and with a compassionate heart, they still see that we are all part of the same big human family. Hurting one another is only hurting ourselves.

May we see more peace in the future than exists at present.
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