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Yap Yap, Palladium! What's the Scoop?
Palladium has gotten much attention in recent months as the cost of Platinum and Gold have skyrocketed.
We talked about Palladium recently here on DiamondVues and highlighted the point of view of Scott Kay, an internationally acclaimed jewelry designer. What the heck is a Palladium Engagement Ring?
At this weeks major jewelry show in Las Vegas, Palladium was a hot topic for discussion. Susan Posnick covered the Seminar. Here's her Report:
"With metal prices through the roof, palladium has been a hot topic at the Las Vegas jewelry shows. So hot that around 500 show attendees got up early Monday morning to get briefed on "The Palladium Facts" in a seminar designed to alter perceptions about the metal.
The program, organized by the Palladium Alliance International (PAI), included a panel of experts pushing the palladium agenda from different perspectives. The speakers were Frank McAllister, CEO of Stillwater Mining Co., the only U.S. producer of both platinum and palladium; designer Scott Kay, CEO and lead designer of Scott Kay Inc.; Daniel Ballard, national sales manager, Precious Metals West; and Stewart Grice, mill and refining director, Hoover & Strong. The session was moderated by Dave Federman, contributing editor of Modern Jeweler magazine.
Palladium, a platinum group metal (PGM) has the fine properties of platinum, but PAI touts it as "whiter than platinum" and "the least dense of all the PGMs." At the same time, it is significantly lower in cost than platinum and gold, with current prices ranging from $300 to $400 per ounce. That said, the panelists insisted that the benefit is not as a cheaper alternative to other precious metals but a high-quality equal that is rare, 95 percent pure and easy to work with.
"It's definitely not a replacement for white gold and it's definitely not a replacement for platinum, but it is a new metal," said Grice.
Well, not new in terms of it being around, but new in terms of awareness, said McAllister.
"It's been jewelry's best-kept secret," McAllister said.
Kay—who started using palladium in his fine jewelry line and touted the metal in a letter to his clients this past March—was adamant that palladium should not be considered a cheaper alternative metal to platinum.
"This word 'alternative' drives me nuts," Kay said. "Palladium is not an alternative to white gold. Palladium is not an asset to our jewelry industry because it trades at somewhere around $350 an ounce. Palladium is not an asset because platinum is at $1,250 or $1,300 or $1,400 an ounce."
Rather, he said it is parallel to platinum in terms of quality, but actually superior in the design flexibility it allows jewelers because while it's a substantial metal, it is lighter in weight.
"It's not light, it's right," Kay said. "The fact is it has the right density because we make things to wear." For instance, it is a better choice for things like earrings, which are too heavy with platinum.
The only real advantage he says platinum has is "perception and history." The designer said he's particularly incensed by media stories—such as an article published in USA Today—that he claims inaccurately compartmentalizes the metal with less precious ones like steel and titanium. He also doesn't believe it should be compared to white gold, because it's naturally white."
In our opinion, caution is warranted at this time.
