PALLADIUM SHINES AS MORE IN THE JEWELRY INDUSTRY RECOGNIZE ITS BEAUTY, UNIQUENESS & POTENTIAL

- Leading Retailers, Designers and Manufacturers Sought Palladium Manufacturing Wisdom and Profit-Making Leads at Las Vegas Jewelry Shows -

July 2007, Las Vegas, NV - Be ready for a dedicated retail space for luxury Palladium has opened new markets for retailers,” says Dawn McCurtain, Director of Marketing, Palladium Alliance International (PAI). “We saw a record number of people at our booth and Palladium seminars at the two Las Vegas shows combined, and had a record number of advance inquiries on the metal. This demonstrates the growing acceptance and usage of Palladium in today’s market.”

Even though Palladium has only been recently reintroduced to the jewelry industry, the excitement about this naturally white luxury metal was very high. The number of designers, manufacturers producing Pd950 Palladium jewelry, has increased to more than 50 companies in less than one year. PAI is also seeing an increased demand from retailers for consumer marketing and support.

There’s so much potential for Palladium and it’s encouraging to hear from new companies who are either working with or retailing palladium jewelry each week. We know Palladium is winning more people over especially since most questions posed to the PAI recently are about how they (retailers and wholesalers) can integrate Palladium as part of their white metal inventory,” explains McCurtain.

Since its inception in 2006, Palladium Alliance International has been actively developing various progressive programs to assist companies in the use of Palladium. Current initiatives include:

Development of technical and sales guides for the trade, as well as a consumer retail brochures
Providing promotional materials for jewelry display cases.
Palladium bench and manufacturing insights and a dedicated hotline/email for technical-related questions.
On-site retail sales training for retailers
eKnowledge online training for retail and wholesale sales force (soon-to-be-launched)
Launch of the inaugural “Palladium Design Book”, an annual look book showcasing Palladium jewelry and trends by leading designers and manufacturers
Initial test phases of trade and consumer advertising and marketing campaigns
Adding to the growing list of Palladium-focused campaigns and activities, PAI also secured notable speakers of leading Palladium jewelry manufacturers and designers for the power breakfast seminar at the JCK Las Vegas 2007.

Sponsored by Frederick Goldman Inc, the session was titled “Palladium: The Time Is Now” and was held on Monday, June 4. Panel speakers and session highlights include:

Frank McAllister, CEO of Stillwater Mining Company, revealed the growing acceptance and popularity of palladium jewelry, particularly with the Chinese market, and assured attendees of the Palladium’s resource availability for the jewelry industry.
Susan Chandler, Vice President of Merchandising, Frederick Goldman Inc., shared with the audience on how retailers and manufacturers can manage the addition of Palladium jewelry and using Palladium as a platform to enhance their current white metal jewelry portfolio. Representing the leading distributor of Palladium wedding bands and bridal jewelry in today’s market, she also advised on the key points to know when selling Palladium jewelry against other white metals, reminding audience that “each metal has different properties that make each desirable for the buyer. Since Palladium is a PGM, it creates a perfect bridge in characteristics and price point between white gold and Platinum.”
“Knowledge is Wisdom and wisdom is the foundation to successfully marketing, promoting and selling Palladium jewelry” as articulated by Isabella Fiske, Vice-President of Marketing, Lieberfarb Inc. Fiske urged that in order to sell Palladium successfully and thrive, retailers must seek education and facts about the metal, stock the right Palladium inventory, and then using Palladium’s characteristics as key marketing and selling points to make the sale to the consumers.
Phyllis Bergman, President of Mercury Ring Corporation, one of the few remaining family-owned jewelry manufacturing companies in the United States, offered insights on how the company evolved their product offerings to include Palladium. Bergman recalled that the initial stages of working with palladium were challenging as options and knowledge of use was limited. Through relentless trial and errors, her team discovered the many diverse ways Palladium could be worked into and encouraged manufacturers to explore how Palladium can help one’s business evolve into the new century.
Palladium’s potential as the white metal icon in the luxury fashion category was what Sofia, creative director of Tenthio Fine Jewelry,focused on. Known for her bold and distinctive jewelry creations in palladium, platinum and yellow gold, Sofia explained, “There hasn’t been a naturally white, noble, light, durable or even affordable metal for the fine fashion jewelry category until now. Palladium will very soon lead in today’s contemporary market, where the same Platinum wedding band consumer will also want to buy a large, fancy Palladium cocktail ring.” Sofia also highlighted the increasing use of Palladium by the designer fashion houses like Hermes and Gucci, where Palladium is steadily being used and acknowledged.

Stating that Palladium has its own unique working characteristics, Mark B. Mann, technical consultant for PAI, provided valuable tips and advice on working with Palladium from casting to final polish.

Wrapping up the session, Kate Peterson, sales training expert for PAI eloquently summed up the session that as with every new stone, metal or jewelry trend, Palladium sales can still fall apart on the consumer-sales end if the retailer or manufacturer is not prepared with the facts and education. The industry needs to be prepared, and most importantly, “commit to making Palladium work” for their business.

A common subject raised by manufacturers and retailers was about Palladium casting procedures. Even though Palladium shares many desirable attributes with other PGMs, it is still uniquely its own metal. The Palladium Alliance International has invested in a comprehensive study with the Research Institute of Precious Metals & Metals Chemistry (FEM) in Germany, to research and identify the best casting practices for palladium. The study will also determine mass production casting procedures for desirable and repeatable possible casting results, while maintaining the integrity of the metal as well as the bottom line for manufacturers working with Palladium.

John Stark, Chairman of the Palladium Alliance International said, “It’s good that the current price of Palladium is so appealing that even Wall Street and finance journalists have increased their interest in palladium’s progress in the multi-billion jewelry industry. Even if Palladium’s price rises in the near future, it’ll still be highly competitive to gold and platinum’s soaring numbers. We believe Palladium is definitely the metal to a profitable jewelry business in this new century.”

Palladium Alliance International continues to educate the jewelry industry on better understanding what makes Pd950 Palladium desirable and recognizable, and through communication medium including its web site, www.LuxuryPalladium.com, newsletter “Luxury Palladium”, active presence at leading trade shows, as well as on-going provision of technical articles in trade publications, and palladium sales training for today’s jewelry sales force.

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