Whisky has beaten out cars, wine, watches, and art as the most lucrative investment of passion on earth, according to the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index. The data tracks the ten most lucrative investments of passion, with whisky beating inflation and remaining the 10-year winner on the index in the process. Hardly surprising news for owners of the rarest whiskies on earth, as our list of the most expensive bottles of whisky ever sold is led by a 2019 sale of The Macallan 1926 60-Year-Old Fine and Rare for £1,452,000 via. Sotheby’s.
Interestingly, the top 10 most expensive whiskies ever sold at auction exchanged hands in just the last five years, speaking to the magnitude of growth in the industry.
RELATED: These are the most expensive bottles of whisky ever sold, invest wisely.
The Most Lucrative Luxury Investments | Image: Statista
While it remains the most lucrative investment outright at 373% over the last 10 years, rare whisky only saw a 3% increase year-on-year. Knight Frank’s data specialist said the market for bottles valued at more than £5,000 has weakened significantly, slowing the growth of the sector. “As prices rose speculators came into the market just looking to flip bottles, which was ultimately unsustainable.”
In terms of growth, Art saw the largest increase year-on-year, growing 29%. Sebastian Duthy of Art Market Research, tells Knight Frank that this growth is based on the uber-expensive prices paid for museum-quality works.
“Several single-owner collections, including works owned by Microsoft founder Paul Allen and American investor Anne Bass produced totals in excess of $2.5 billion USD, more than doubling collection sales in 2021. With the provenance of a high-profile collector attached, blue-chip works routinely break auction records and last year was no exception with five achieving over US$100 million.”
Of course, you’re probably wondering where that leaves watches. Timepieces saw a respectable increase of 18% year-on-year to make the top four on the list of most lucrative investments of passion. Sales on the secondary market have boomed amongst a small number of models, specifically the Patek Philippe Nautilus, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Rolex Daytona.
In terms of cars, they rose 25% year-on-year. This is hardly surprising for anyone who follows the sales on Bring a Trailer and Collecting Cars, and that’s without mentioning the big auction houses. It goes without saying at this point, but the vintage and collectable car market operates independently of the used car market, and our list of the most expensive cars ever sold highlights the recent sale of a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe for $142,769,250 USD via. Sotheby’s.
Want to find out where wine, handbags, coins, and jewellery land on the list of most lucrative investments of passion? Check out the full list via the link below.
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