Platinum jewellery performs well in the third quarter

1st December 2020 By: Tasneem Bulbulia - Senior Contributing Editor Online

Platinum jewellery performed well in the four key international platinum jewellery markets of China, India, Japan and the US in the third quarter, Platinum Guild International's (PGI’s) Platinum Jewellery Business Review (PJBR) for the period has found,.

During the quarter under review, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) continued its steady recovery, owing to a stringent lockdown and tracing system to control the Covid-19 pandemic.

Platinum jewellery outperformed other categories, delivering a considerable 13% year-on-year growth in fabrication, owing to pent-up bridal demand, new collection launches, PGI’s Reboot during key festival occasions and favourable platinum/gold metal pricing, PGI notes.

India’s GDP contracted at a slower pace in the period owing to the gradual reopening of economic activities.

High gold prices present an opportunity to convert consumers from gold to platinum buyers, especially for entry price point products, PGI says.

In Japan, the second wave of the pandemic peaked in early August, enabling some business recovery during the third quarter.

Platinum jewellery retail sales recovered to about 90% of 2019 levels, boosted by bridal and high-end jewellery sales, the PGI notes.

The US economy rebounded in the period, but risks are looming as new cases of Covid-19 surge again, and the lack of further government stimulus plans caused a slower return of jobs.

Platinum jewellery sales in the ‘symbolic meaning’ categories from key partners grew by double digits in the third quarter, PGI indicates.