Palladium Jewellery...Noble and New, Bright and Beautiful!

When we jewellers think of materials to make our jewellery with, how often do we go beyond the gold and silver and platinum? Not very, one would say. We don’t have any options, anyway, do we? But we do...because there is another metal, which is not so well-known, but beautiful beyond all doubt – Palladium. While in the Indian market, palladium is still not as popular as it should be, internationally of course, palladium is now the way to go. Proof? Palladium has been used in jewellery since 1939, as an alternative to white gold or platinum. Palladium recently came under the legal hallmarking scheme in the UK and more than 40,000 pieces were voluntarily hallmarked in the last six months – a sure indicator of growing interest in palladium as a metal of choice for jewellery (http://www.theassayoffice.co.uk/palladium_hallmarking.html). According to market reports, the net demand for palladium for jewellery was expected to climb to a total of 920,000 pounds in 2009. The consumption of palladium in jewellery is expected to grow by 24% from 2008 to 2012. Palladium was under special focus at the British Jeweller’s Association awards for 2010 in two categories, where designers were expected to submit palladium pieces demonstrating its beauty, lightness and durability. Intrigued? So, let’s take a look at the whys and wherefores of palladium...

Palladium is special and its popularity is rising... Till 2001, palladium jewellery was considerably more expensive than platinum jewellery -primarily because there was a problem with casting it to create viable designs. However, newly developed methods of casting palladium jewellery have removed that single obstacle in creating beautiful palladium jewellery, which has led to a sharp increase in its popularity. Moreover, palladium is really special as responses from manufacturers, retailers and designers – the people who actually work with the metal clearly show. While the chief reason for the rise in the popularity of palladium is its properties of durability, lightness, hypoallergenic, malleability, lightweight, extreme white shine and lustre, no need for rhodium plating and lower cost compared to gold, there are several other reasons why palladium is special.

CEO of Dallas based PMI, a leading palladium manufacturing and design company, Terry O’Malley says, “Palladium is truly a green and environmentally unique metal – a majority of all palladium used in jewellery comes from recycled industrial devices“. Opines H Gio Giovanni G.G. CEO/Senior CAD Designer at Blacksmith & Co, a palladium jewellery design and manufacturing firm based in the US, “Palladium’s even tone of reflection does well to highlight gemstones, diamonds and pearls. A brush or machine finish makes for an especially bold statement. Palladium looks great with 950Kt gold in two-tone jewellery“. Designer Karin Jacobson from Minneapolis, USA agrees, “Palladium is special because of its cool, beautiful colour and modern look and feel.” For Herzl Lary, CEO at LA based jewellery manufacturer, Venetti Corporation, the fact that, “Palladium can be used in its 95% pure form…and it is an all white metal which need not be mixed with other inferior metals” is what makes it unique. Favourable comparisons with the others… So, why should anyone be using palladium in the first place? Why not stick to the trusted old gold, silver and platinum? Jewellers who work with the metal are unanimous in their approval of the metal and also emphasize that it compares favourably to other metals like gold, silver and even platinum!

US based designer Catherine Iskiw explains, ”Now that earlier issues with the workability of palladium have been resolved, it is easier to deal with the newer alloys. In terms of price and weight, it competes very well with the other metals. Selling it is easy once the customer is convinced.” Lisa Krikawa, Custom Jewellery Designer, Founder, CEO at Arizona based Krikawa Jewellery offers a slightly different viewpoint, “In terms of price, palladium is comparable to 14K gold for finished custom made pieces and mass production cost is lower than that for white gold. There are technical difficulties associated with palladium in casting, laser welding and fabrication that require expertise. In sales, palladium far exceeds white gold if the customer is educated about the characteristics of the metal. For customers looking for a lower cost, palladium is preferred to platinum.” Herz offers a unique point, “Palladium has a “metal memory” which means that after the stones are set, the metal will stay in its original form and protect the stones where as gold will lose its form because of its softness, causing the stones to loosen and fall out.” Sofia, Designer and Owner at Tenthio Fine Jewellery, New York emphasizes the ease with which palladium can be used to design large sculptural designs – cuffs, bracelets, earrings, pendants and rings. Like people, palladium too has its own character, which makes it very interesting and at times challenging to work with.” Prasoon Dewan, Executive Director, Eurostar Exim Pvt Ltd, crunches numbers to compare the metals - palladium is 10-20% harder than platinum so stones and diamonds can be set and secured more safely, it is 35-40% lighter than platinum with respect to specific gravity, so we can achieve more volume and still end up with lesser weight and subsequently lower price of manufacturing, it costs almost 70-75% less than platinum, and 60%-65% less than gold....more than enough reason to take palladium really seriously!

Creating customer awareness... With the establishment of the Palladium Alliance International (http://www.luxurypalladium.com/TRADE/), awareness about the metal is increasing. With the increasing popularity of palladium, jewellers are not only doing their bit to increase customer awareness, they also know what exactly needs to be done to popularise the metal.

Terry gives an interesting insight into what goes into creating customer awareness – “Like every metal, whether it is gold, silver or platinum, the market has to be educated and this is the top down responsibility of the industry and its strategic partners and alliances. We need to ensure that the chain of command in the entire process from creation to selling is clear about the advantages of palladium over its competitors like rhodium plated yellow gold, for example – palladium comes 950 parts pure, not 585 parts pure like gold; palladium is naturally white, not plated; palladium is rarer than gold; 23Kt palladium costs less than 14Kt gold. Product knowledge through education makes for a strong selling relationship and a very satisfied customer; today the consumer is looking for value and information not hype. The customer needs to be told that he has four choices of white metal and pricing to choose from – silver, palladium, platinum and rhodium plated yellow gold. Organizations like Palladium Alliance International have helped initiate the learning curve that needs to be adopted by the jewellery retail industry. Prasoon agrees, “Educating the consumer about the white steel colour, unique hardness, hypoallergenic nature and great value for money will definitely enhance consumer confidence in palladium”. Sofia has some valuable ideas to offer for promotion and creating awareness about palladium jewellery, “The best way to get the consumer to be receptive towards palladium would be extensive exposure including promoting palladium via fashion shows and magazines, in-store events, presence on the web, exhibits and kiosk displays at jewellery shows and galleries and finally palladium design competitions. Awareness for this fine metal is easier when established brands get involved as well when unique, refreshing designs are introduced to the world. Focusing on lifestyles and interests while creating specific promotional campaigns will generate interest and awareness. Ultimately continued coverage of palladium should keep palladium in the jewellery and accessory marketplace.”

Other than what the industry should be doing in general to promote palladium, Karin says, “I usually explain the properties of palladium to my custom clients, so they know exactly what the metal is about. My wholesale clients get a fact sheet so they can pass on the information to their clients.” Catherine”compares and contrasts it with other metals. Customers sometimes have me price an item in palladium, platinum and white gold and then choose.” Lisa uses “the website, emails, telephone conversations and face-to-face interactions to educate her custom clients.”

Trends in palladium jewellery... The kind of designs and variety that can be created using palladium would lay all doubts about the metal being fashionable to rest...there is no design that cannot be created with palladium...and anyone who is sceptical about the “in vogue” quality of palladium ought to take a look at what’s trendy with the metal...

Catherine emphasises,” The popularity of geometric and minimalist designs that stand the test of time as also textured designs. Palladium looks very white in high polish and darker in a textured finish, allowing the creation of interesting contrasts with high polish, circular machined pattern or a random scratch finish.” Prasoon says, “Daily wear designs are seeing a lot of geometric shapes and party wear collections have coloured stones like blue sapphires, blue topaz, aquamarine and smoky quartz being fused. Sofia opines”For bridal jewellery, the classic look is in and the studded, floral designs are expected to pick up in the next 2-3 months”. Gio favours the free flowing designs, patterns and angular motions that are in vogue now. The simple, plain styles are being re-mastered to produce cutting edge, contemporary jewellery.

Customer responses... By all standards and available information, the customer response to palladium is very very optimistic – as is evident from what designers and jewellers say...

Karin talks about the “great customer response” to palladium because of its bright white colour and because it doesn’t require periodic re-plating like white gold, which makes it quite hassle free. Gio agrees – Once people see its reflective properties and its lightness as compared to other metals, they respond very positively. Herzl says, “People are generally quite satisfied with the classic look and durability of palladium, especially that it costs much less than gold and platinum.” “Once a customer is educated about colour, wearability and cost, an overwhelmingly large number of people choose palladium over white gold.” says Lisa.

It is more than obvious that as customers demand more and more in terms of design, value for money and exclusivity, jewellers are also pulling up their socks to become more and more innovative – not just in design but also in materials used. Palladium is one such metal that clearly looks set to rule the minds of both jewellers and customers who dare to look beyond the usual and ordinary.

Highlights: Palladium is truly a green and environmentally unique metal – a majority of all palladium used in jewellery comes from recycled industrial devices – Terry O’Malley , CEO, PMI

Palladium has a “metal memory” which means that after the stones are set, the metal will stay in its original form and protect the stones where as gold will lose its form because of its softness, causing the stones to loosen and fall out – Herzl Lary, CEO, Venetti Corporation

Palladium looks very white in high polish and darker in a textured finish, allowing the creation of interesting contrasts with high polish, circular machined pattern or a random scratch finish – Catherine Iskiw, Designer

Like people, palladium too has its own character, which makes it very interesting and at times challenging to work with – Sofia, Designer and Owner, Tenthio Fine Jewellery

I usually explain the properties of palladium to my custom clients, so they know exactly what the metal is about. My wholesale clients get a fact sheet so they can pass on the information to their clients – Karin Jacobson, Designer

Palladium’s even tone of reflection does well to highlight gemstones, diamonds and pearls. A brush or machine finish makes for an especially bold statement. Palladium looks great with 950Kt gold in two-tone jewellery – H Gio Giovanni G.G. CEO/Senior CAD Designer, Blacksmith & Co.

Palladium is 10-20% harder than platinum, 35-40% lighter than platinum with respect to specific gravity, costs almost 70-75% less than platinum, and 60%-65% less than gold – Prasoon Dewan, Executive Director, Eurostar Exim Pvt Ltd, crunches numbers to compare the metals -

Once a customer is educated about colour, wearability and cost, an overwhelmingly large number of people choose palladium over white gold – Lisa Krikawa, Custom Jewellery Designer, Founder, CEO, Krikawa Jewellery

The chief reason for the rise in the popularity of palladium is its properties of durability, lightness, hypoallergenic, malleability, lightweight, extreme white shine and lustre, no need for rhodium plating and lower cost compared to gold.

The kind of designs and variety that can be created using palladium would lay all doubts about the metal being fashionable to rest.