(PRESS RELEASE) NEW YORK — Sustained growth in US platinum jewelry sales in the last quarter of 2021 resulted in a record performance for the full year, according to Platinum Guild International’s Platinum Jewellery Business Review Q4 2021. PGI’s strategic partners in the US market reported their best-ever business performance for 2021, with an average of 30% YoY growth during the last quarter, with almost all platinum products sales rising double digits.
The success of the grant program, designed to turbo-charge the growth in US platinum jewelry business by inspiring manufacturers and retailers to make platinum an important focus of their business, was clearly evident. Grant recipients Helzberg, Memoire and Kwiat, expanded their platinum business at a fast pace, ranging from 40% to triple-digit growth in Q4, all significantly exceeding expectations, as the companies aligned their merchandising, marketing, education, and customer experience efforts to focus on the platinum category. Several grant recipients also rolled out new exclusive platinum designs in time for holiday shoppers.
Julie Yoakum, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer for Helzberg Diamonds, shared, “The grant from Platinum Guild allowed us the opportunity to place more robust platinum jewelry content in front of consumers across a variety of marketing channels. As a result, we have increased customer engagement and improved awareness. More customers are choosing platinum for their engagement and wedding ring purchases; they see the intrinsic value in this rare and enduring precious metal.”
Jacqueline Grande Raffi, senior director of Memoire commented, “The PGI grant was a catalyst for our organization to focus our distribution on selling platinum. We now shelf stock, and overnight ship, our bestselling diamond bands in Platinum within a range of ring sizes. Additionally, during a time when our retailers were struggling with staffing shortages, we made it easier and faster for their teams to access information and order through our B2B site. Information in the moment of the sale, rather than requiring them to get back to the customer with a price and lead time. Our platinum sales growth was over 146%, far outperforming gold sales within this same program and more importantly far outpacing the industry growth during a record-breaking year. “
“With the generous grant from PGI, Kwiat created a robust marketing program to support the launch of our new proprietary diamond cut, the Kwiat Cushion set exclusively in platinum,” shared Greg Kwiat, CEO of Kwiat. “We increased our investment in paid media across all channels and invested in key partnerships across our retail partner distribution network.” He continued, “The PGI grant helped propel our platinum business in 2021, especially in key categories like engagement rings, diamond stud earrings and line bracelets. Our year over year increases were well beyond our initial projections.”
The strength of platinum sales in 2021 reflected a strong performance in the overall jewelry categories in the US, which experienced strong, historic growth in 2021. Cautious optimism suggests continued growth ahead in the US market. PGI will continue to support its strategic partners in the US market to ensure that platinum’s upward sales trend continues for years to come.
“We could not be more pleased by the grant program’s initial quarter results,” explained Jenny Luker, president of Platinum Guild International USA. “Our three partners took advantage of the historic holiday season, prioritized platinum, and have clearly outstanding results to use as benchmarks as we continue to grow our partnerships. We feel strongly that this continued joint commitment to the world’s most precious metal will yield consistent growth in 2022.”
PGI USA will continue its successful grant program, with an open call for applications in 2023 for the next class of recipients.