DIAMONDS, they say, are for ever. They can be pricey, too. On December 5th 173 lots of jewels auctioned by Sotheby’s raised $54m. They included several pieces belonging to Sean Connery, known for playing James Bond. The following day a car favoured by Bond, the Aston Martin DB5, was auctioned for $2.7m. It was among 24 classic vehicles that together fetched $45m. The sales in New York last week by the world’s two biggest auction houses, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, also involved fine wines优质葡萄酒, watches and other luxuries. Between them they sold $200m-worth.

DIAMONDS, they say, are for ever. 常言道，钻石恒久远，一颗永流传。

Sotheby’s 苏富比拍卖行

Sean Connery 肖恩·康纳利，1930年8月25日出生于苏格兰的爱丁堡，第一任詹姆斯·邦德的扮演者。他继承了英国人的绅士风度，又继承了苏格兰人的硬汉性格。文质彬彬，温文尔雅的外表，英勇无敌，铁汉雄心，处处透露出一种充满了机智的幽默。

Christie’s克利斯蒂拍卖行

The Economist has compiled汇集，汇编 price indices for many of these items—diamonds, classic cars, fine wine, art艺术品, watches and other curios—and grouped them in a “passion” index. The index is weighted according to the holdings of high-net-worth individuals (HNWI)—defined as people with more than $1m of investable assets—as reported by Barclays. Our passion index has dropped by 2% a year, on average, for the past three years. But since the beginning of 2007 it has returned 5.9% on average, outperforming the total return from the MSCI world, a global stockmarket index.

indices 指数；目录（index的复数）

curio古董，珍品

high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) 高净值人士

Barclays巴克莱银行（公司名，财富500强公司之一，总部所在地英国，主要经营银行）

MSCI 英文全称为Morgan Stanley Capital International，是美国著名的指数编制公司，摩根士丹利资本国际公司（MSCI）（又译明晟）。MSCI是一家股权、固定资产、对冲基金、股票市场指数的供应商，其旗下编制了多种指数。明晟指数（MSCI指数）是全球投资组合经理最多采用的基准指数。

Passion investing may help hedge对冲 other bets风险: art tends to be inversely correlated to stockmarket indices, for example. The supply of many collectables收藏品，珍藏品 is fixed; demand for them is growing. The number of HNWIs rose from 11m to 16.5m from 2011 to 2016 and their collective wealth grew to $63trn, according to Capgemini, a consultancy. It forecasts that HNWI wealth will surpass $100trn by 2025, with about 10% invested in collectables.

Capgemini 凯捷管理顾问公司（是一间全球性的资讯科技服务管理领导厂商）

Caution is advised. The returns from collectables may be hard to realise. First, the indices do not reflect the true cost of investing: insurance, storage and upkeep are all costly. Second, unlike shares, items in our index are neither very liquid (except wine) nor fungible (the goods are rarely interchangeable). When a quick sale is sought—often caused by debt, death or divorce—big losses重大损失 can be incurred. Finally auctions, the basis for many of our indices, may inflate the market thanks to reserve pricing. Unlike last week’s glamorous showing魅力秀, losses are often booked预定 quietly in private sales. And you cannot settle in bitcoin用比特币结算.（382字）

Caution is advised.要保持警惕。

insurance, storage and upkeep are all costly 保险、贮藏以及保养的成本都非常高昂。

fungible可替代的 [近]interchangeable

reserve pricing保留价（格）