Platinum jewellery does not have resale value; making charges are exorbitantly high and women in general do not like platinum… these are myths, according to Vaishali Banerjee, Country Manager (India), Platinum Guild International.

Banerjee, who was here to launch platinum bridal jewellery collection – Evara, said any hallmarked piece of platinum jewellery can be encashed at any store (that sells platinum jewellery) across the country, and making charges are not exorbitant as perceived by many. It is about 30 per cent more than that of comparable gold jewellery. “May be women don’t prefer platinum to gold, but they want platinum jewellery to be part of their collection,” she said. Quoting a consumer survey, she added that 85 per cent platinum consumers are in the age group of 18-30.

Accounting for 5 per cent of global demand, India is the fourth largest platinum jewellery market in the world, after China (69 per cent), Japan (10 per cent) and the US (7 per cent). In 2013, four tonnes of platinum jewellery were sold in India, registering 41 per cent growth over 2012, she said.

Platinum Guild, she said, is in the process of educating the trade on the metal, and creating awareness to demystify those myths. Without giving out any absolute figures, Banerjee said the guild would spend 40 per cent more this year to promote the metal through both below the line and above the line campaigns. Besides, the efforts will be on to more than double the number of retail outlets in the next two-three years from the current 800, by expanding the footprint to even tier II and tier III cities.

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