kristin
07-06-2006, 11:49 AM
Palladium emerges as white hot issue in Vegas
By Susan Thea Posnock
JUNE 06, 2006 - Las Vegas -- 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.
One interested seminar attendee was Chuck Lein of Stuller Inc., which at this point is not using palladium.
"We're here to learn," he said, adding that Stuller was taking a cautious approach. "Sometimes you want to be at the cutting edge, but not at the bleeding edge."
Right now, he said, Stuller has a significant investment in a variety of metals including platinum along with 10-, 14-, and 18-karat yellow and white gold. That includes a proprietary white gold offering which he says counters some of the negatives associated with that metal, which many jewelers say turns yellow over time.
"As a just in time supplier you've got to be cautious about how many metals you get into, but this is very insightful," Lein said. "I think one of the difficult things is to avoid confusion in the marketplace among consumers and that's going to be one of the challenges, but we're going to seek to understand."
Right now he sees the palladium industry as being in a phase where it is educating the trade.
"I think their position will be significantly different five years from now than it is today," he said. "I think they're going through the same evolutionary process that platinum went through 15 years ago."
While Lein wouldn't say when Stuller would buy into palladium, he indicated the company would get there eventually.
By Susan Thea Posnock
JUNE 06, 2006 - Las Vegas -- 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.
One interested seminar attendee was Chuck Lein of Stuller Inc., which at this point is not using palladium.
"We're here to learn," he said, adding that Stuller was taking a cautious approach. "Sometimes you want to be at the cutting edge, but not at the bleeding edge."
Right now, he said, Stuller has a significant investment in a variety of metals including platinum along with 10-, 14-, and 18-karat yellow and white gold. That includes a proprietary white gold offering which he says counters some of the negatives associated with that metal, which many jewelers say turns yellow over time.
"As a just in time supplier you've got to be cautious about how many metals you get into, but this is very insightful," Lein said. "I think one of the difficult things is to avoid confusion in the marketplace among consumers and that's going to be one of the challenges, but we're going to seek to understand."
Right now he sees the palladium industry as being in a phase where it is educating the trade.
"I think their position will be significantly different five years from now than it is today," he said. "I think they're going through the same evolutionary process that platinum went through 15 years ago."
While Lein wouldn't say when Stuller would buy into palladium, he indicated the company would get there eventually.