Platinum appears to be best performer across jewelry markets worldwide

Platinum won the sympathy of jewelry consumers worldwide in 2021 despite disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is evidenced by Platinum Guild International (PGI), which released its annual Platinum Jewellery Business Review (PJBR) highlighting platinum’s prestigious image among jewellery retailers and their customers.
“PGI is devoted to ensuring that platinum plays a distinctive role within the jewellery industry. To achieve this goal, PGI has been working with partners in integrating platinum into branding strategies to win customers’ hearts. Increasingly, building brands and stories around branded collections are instrumental to increasing consumers’ willingness to make a purchase. Increasingly retailers, manufacturers, and designers, are leveraging the unique qualities of platinum to drive their business,” says Huw Daniel, Chief Executive Officer of PGI.
Through its unique properties and storied history, platinum is well placed today to drive margin growth in the upper market segment, which is projected to grow much faster than the total market.1 In the PJBR, jewellery brands from luxury houses to market-leading retail chains recognized the differentiating qualities of platinum, such as its strength, its naturally white colour, and its representation of significant meanings and emotions, as a central part of their offering and jewellery-making culture. Additionally, iconic brands are aware of the ultimate versatility of platinum in lending itself to some of the most intricate and finest designs.   
The prevalence of branding and the positive development of branded collections are reflected in platinum’s key market performances in 2021, where they served as a valuable tactic for generating value and sustainable business development in the post-pandemic era.
Within the overall jewellery market, total retail sales in Japan recovered by 17.4% YoY in 2021. Platinum was the best performing white precious metal for jewellery, with retail sales reaching 568K ounces, an 11.6% YoY increase, and up 0.4% against 2019. This performance was largely thanks to strong sales of asset-type and bridal jewellery, along with a continued shift towards a preference for higher purity metals. 
PGI’s partners, which account for more than a third of total platinum retail sales in China, declined at a reduced rate of 9% YoY (on the backdrop of an overall decline of 23% in Platinum jewelry fabrication) thanks to multipronged strategies, such as showing the value of branded collections created through innovative technologies in compelling designs. In 2021, both the quantity and quality of branded collections continued to grow across all partners from bridal to love-gifting, and for women, men and now unisex, creating ripple effects among retailers. 
India’s overall jewellery business witnessed significant growth in the fourth quarter with a strong wedding season and a series of festivals that traditionally encourage jewellery buying, making platinum the fastest-growing category for PGI’s strategic partners in 2021, up by 30% YoY.
The US reported outstanding retail results in 2021, with jewellery as the shining star. Within the industry, platinum jewellery had an even stronger year, delivering 15% YoY growth in retail sales. PGI’s strategic partners reported platinum unit sales growth ranging from 28-42%, results that not only surpassed 2020, but also exceeded pre-pandemic sales. 
By integrating a resonating branding strategy and applying innovative designs and technologies in product offerings on top of its inherent value, platinum provides a unique combination of rational and emotional business drivers and presents the jewellery industry with an irresistible business opportunity to unlock its full potential.