New York City. Nov. 15, 2018. Earlier this year, jewelry lovers with champagne tastes on beer budgets got a gift from the nonprofit association that promotes the rarest of all precious metals: Platinum Guild International (PGI) unveiled an entry-level-price platinum jewelry collection in association with key industry partners. Called Platinum Born, about 30 individual pieces are made in Japana country with a long love affair with delicate platinum designsand distributed by Suna Brothers, a seasoned maker of heirloom-quality jewels.
For years, directional voices in jewelry including editors and top store owners have lamented the fact that platinum was largely available only in wedding rings. It wasnt easy to find chic platinum jewels in wearable styles for every day. Designers like Elisa Solomon and Deirdre Featherstone knew long ago the importance of offering fashion-forward styles in platinum (think of Solomons Peace Sign necklace for $2,530 and just about everything Featherstone makes, including emerald and diamond climber-style earrings), but most other makers relegated platinum to the wedding category alone. Thats not a bad space to be in, but it is limiting, especially for a metal thats durable, bright, hypoallergenic, and rare. How rare? PGI maintains that platinum is 30 times more rare than gold. Further, if all the platinum ever mined were melted and poured into an Olympic-sized pool, the platinum would barely reach your ankles while gold would fill three pools. Thats pretty rare.
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So PGI worked with international partners to make an accessible collection of platinum jewelry. Styles including chains for layering, lariats, bracelets, and dangle earrings, with retail price tags from $495 to $7,500. Theres even a magnetic necklace that you can effortlessly wrap around the neck or wristno fumbling with a clasp! The individual pieces are sourced from a few Japanese platinum jewelry manufacturers as opposed to one company with a singular collection, giving shoppers the ability to start their personal platinum inventories with essentials for repeated wear.
Theres nothing like this in the market, explained Danielle Barber, creative manager of Suna Brothers, at a high-end jewelry trade show in Arizona. Platinum has value and we want to offer greater access to it.
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PGI USA President Jenny Luker agrees. Weve seen this platinum opportunity in Japan, and we want that for the U.S. Many brides already want a platinum wedding ring, and many other women already own more than two pieces of platinum. After concluding extensive focus groups and market research, Platinum Born fulfilled what the consumer was looking for.
The venerable retailer Lux, Bond & Green, of Boston, immediately bought into the line and offers many of its styles for sale online. And at these prices, theres no need to wait; your platinum moment can happen much sooner than you may have thought.
