What type of jewelry is sizzling hot in 2014? That’s a key question for anyone contemplating which pieces to sell and which to hang onto – or for those of us just looking to stay on top of the trends.

Sadly, we don’t have a crystal ball that prophesies the future of jewelry trends, but as we sweep past the year’s mid-point, we have a solid read on the jewelry that is currently hotter than July. Here are the top trends we're seeing in hot spots around the globe:

If you want to build a coin collection worth serious coin, don't buy the latest fad. In fact, don't bother with anything issued in the last 60 years, says Norman Scrivener, coin specialist at Doyle New York. The sweet spot for beginning collectors? Coins from the 1940s.

In many cases, color in diamonds indicates a drawback - an unattractive tint that can detract from the price. Most of us look for the clearest, most colorless diamond we can find. But there’s color, and then there’s color. Sizable natural diamonds of fancy or vivid shades of pink, blue and yellow are exquisite – and rare. When they appear at auction, they go for astronomical prices.

That’s been happening a lot.

Saturday was summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, the longest day of the year and most importantly, the official start of summer. No better time to stock up on pearls, June’s birthstone, the perfect complement to summer whites, and one of the most desired (and constantly reinvented) products of the sea.

With the rise of clock-equipped cellular phones, wristwatches were projected to fall into obscurity alongside portable CD players and VHS machines. Not only has this not come to pass, watches - particularly in the luxury category - are setting records at auction.