I don't think that's right.  Sure, there is jewelry that retains value, but that jewelry is composed of three things - gold, silver, and diamonds.  It's the material that's retaining value, not the item.<p>We are already seeing a huge wave in the crossover between electronics and fashion accessories.  The Motorola RAZR heralded the beginning of this wave - a phone that was "cool" to have.  Apple is riding this wave with it's line of designer laptops, phones, and music devices.<p>Accessories, which includes cheap jewelry, follow the same value path as electronics: expensive and quickly depreciating.  I don't know if I would have predicted it 10 years ago, but it's certainly happening now.