The salvator mundi was bought at an auction for $1.2k, restored & appraised, then eventually sold for $450 million. The art/collection world is fascinate everything latches onto experts putting their reputation on the line, precious metals and gem stones make way more sense to me as their authenticity is undeniable for now

Weirdly enough, precious metals and gem stones are only valuable because we agree they are. It's exactly the same as art, but with a lot less debate.