Prices of art, fine wine, rare whisky, coloured diamonds, furniture decline in 2024: Knight Frank

Prices of art declined maximum by 18.3% annually during the last year among top 10 popular investments of passion while rates of wine and rare whisky fell by 9% each, according to Knight Frank.

On Wednesday, global property consultant Knight Frank released its 'The Wealth Report 2025'.

In a statement, the consultant said that Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index (KFLII), which tracks the performance of 10 popular investments of passion, revealed that only five out of the ten collectibles managed growth in 2024.

Handbags were the best performing luxury asset class with prices rising 2.8% in 2024, followed by jewellery 2.3%, coins 2.1%, watches 1.7% and classic cars 1.2%.

"The weakest sectors were fine art, wine and whisky. Art was down 18.3%, with the market seeing a total reversal from the double-digit growth of 2023 and a worse performance than during the COVID-19 crisis when values fell 17%," Knight Frank said.

The next weakest sector was fine wine, down by 9.1%, impacted by rapidly changing consumption patterns.

"Rare whisky, a market weighed down by a rapid growth in stock returning to the secondary market after a decade of strong growth, had its second poor year with values down 9% in 2024, and is now lower by 19.3% from the market's peak in summer 2022," the consultant said.

Prices of furniture (important designers) decreased 2.8% while rates of coloured diamonds of 2.2% during the last year.

Knight Frank said that the index fell 3.3% in 2024, reporting a negative growth for the second year in a row, "leaving collectors and investors to navigate a changing landscape where scarcity no longer guarantees returns".

Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank, said: "Luxury collectibles have delivered for investors over the long term. If you had invested $1 million in 2005 and tracked KFLII, your investment would now be worth $5.4 million. The same amount invested in the S&P 500 would have been worth $5 million by the end of 2024."