Platinum will have a tough job outshining gold

R. Ravikumar

CHENNAI, Nov. 6

IT'S finally come to Indian cities. Gold is no longer a fad. Platinum is the order of the day. Are you woman enough to take it on? So titillates Platinum Guild International (PGI). Platinum - the in-thing for Indian women who find gold ornaments jaded, and crave for rarer and more elegant ones.

Platinum, first used in the modern era for jewellery by Louis Cartier of France and Faberge of Russia around 1850, reached its first peak of popularity in 1920s and second in 1990s. As a `white wave' swept the world, making the metal once again a leader in fashion jewellery, it is a puzzle why platinum was almost non-existent in India, the world's largest consumer of gold, till recently. Though PGI launched the platinum marketing campaign in Delhi and Mumbai in October 2000, it extended its marketing network to Bangalore only in June 2001 and later on to other cities such as Chennai, Chandigarh and Kolkata.

An advertising campaign including print advertisements in leading magazines and newspapers was launched after the release of the jewellery in the Indian market. ``Since consumers in India are not familiar with platinum jewellery, we organise various awareness programmes such as exhibitions and fashion shows to educate the public on the characteristics of the metal, the difference between platinum and white gold, and reasons for its high price,'' says PGI.PGI is also helping retailers establish a distinctive image for platinum jewellery in their shops.

``It also insists upon the exclusivity of platinum jewellery designs,'' says Mr G.R. Radha Krishnan, Director, GRT, jewellery store in Chennai and one of the select few outlets for Platinum Jewellery in the city. PGI- designed product leaflets with information on the metal were also distributed at these showrooms. Is there a great deal of demand for platinum jewellery in the country? Is platinum fancied by many?

A monosyllabic `no' is the answer from many jewellers. Many, in fact, do not know the fact that platinum is not white gold, they say. The demand for platinum jewellery in the country is still at a very nascent stage. Admitting this, Mr Radha Krishnan says...``we cannot expect people to accept a new metal, the price of which is almost three times that of gold, overnight. It's a process that will take time.''

He feels the trend now is more promising than before. ``More of our customers are now aware of the white lustre of platinum,'' he adds. ``We expect to sell more in the days to come,'' he says optimistically. A diamond studded platinum ring will cost you around Rs 10,000. ``But it's worth it,'' says Mr Radha Krishnan. ``In addition to its lustrous nature, the brilliant element of the platinum collection is the focus on design and craftsmanship,'' he says.

Mr Naresh M. Mehta of Mehta Jewellery, another platinum outlet in Chennai, also feels that though the product was launched around three months ago in Chennai, acceptance is still in the initial stage. ``But we are not surprised as we did not expect a market overnight,'' he adds. But, he feels the response is good enough and will certainly improve over a period of time. In India, not many are manufacturing platinum jewellery.

Mr Mehta says this is because it needs special technology, and only a few companies in the country have such facilities. According to Mr Radha Krishnan, platinum, one of the hardest metal available, has a very high melting point (around 2,000 degree Celsius), which makes it difficult for goldsmiths with normal kilns to craft jewellery out of platinum. He says platinum is processed to a grade of 900/000, i.e. each 1,000 gm of jewellery metal contains 900 grams of pure platinum (90%). This is indicated by the `Pt900' hallmark stamped on each item of jewellery.

As it is very difficult to test the purity of platinum unlike gold, PGI has appointed Swiss quality control company SGS (Societe Generale de Surveillance SA, of Geneva) to independently verify and ensure that platinum quality and purity are maintained during the process, says Mr Mehta.Each piece of jewellery from PGI's authorised retailers will carry the PGI logo and a unique number along with a tamper-proof SGS quality assurance certificate guaranteeing 90 per cent purity of platinum in the jewellery and international guarantee card. As of now, there are about 50 PGI-recognised outlets in the country.

Ms Lisa Mukhedkar, the PGI representative in India says that though the material itself is very precious and very rare, high customs duty on platinum import (effectively 20 per cent) is one of the reasons for its high retail price in India (it is about Rs 1,200 per gram). She claims that though India's consumption is very little, its export of finished platinum jewellery accounts for one per cent of the world market. Many jewellery designers and manufacturers say ... ``Maybe platinum is best suited to diamonds and other stones because of its strength and durability, but Indian women may not like it because of its `silver' look.''

Mr Suresh Bapalal of Bapalal & Co Jewellers, says, ``I am not interested in selling platinum jewellery... because, personally, I do not like the metal. In our shop hardly one or two are asking for platinum jewellery and we do make platinum jewellery to order.'' He feels that though diamond looks better in platinum than in gold because of lesser contrast, gold is in a different league altogether. ``All rare products need not necessarily be superior ones,'' he feels.He says that even though PGI is doing its best to promote the metal in the country, ``it remains to be seen how successful they are in their attempts''. ``See.. it's like wearing a Rolex watch. It may not have all that grandeur... but it's Rolex. Similarly, platinum is platinum,'' maintains Mr Naresh Mehta

Pic.: WHITE METAL RAGE: A customer looks at platinum jewellery displayed at the GRT store in Chennai.

Picture by Bijoy Ghosh