At Day’s Jewelers in Waterville, Maine, platinum sales are up as a percentage of the retailer’s overall sales. But that should come as no surprise to jewelers tuned into the commodities market, where the price of gold has been on a steep ascent over the past year (apart from a slight dip in the wake of the presidential election).
“Yes, we have been selling more platinum,” Joe Corey, Day’s president, tells JCK. “Being that the prices [of gold and platinum] are so similar now, it is more palatable for customers to upgrade to platinum. We discuss metal prices like any other market: Prices fluctuate over time.”
Corey’s No. 1 selling tip is to focus on what the precious white metal offers that other metals don’t. “The most effective way to sell platinum is to define the features and benefits of platinum,” he says. “For example, the metal is naturally white and won’t dull like white gold.”
He also likes to remind customers of platinum’s intrinsic wearability—chiefly, the fact that the prongs and shank of a platinum ring last longer than white gold—as well as how pure it is compared with gold (platinum is 90 to 95 percent pure, while 18k gold is 75 percent pure and 14k gold is 58.3 percent).
For buyers concerned that the white metal is significantly harder to work than gold and therefore can cost more than gold at the retail counter, Corey has an excellent comeback:
“While platinum carries a higher initial cost,” he says, “you will likely save more money in the long run with less repairs.”
Top: Joe Corey, president of Day’s Jewelers (photo courtesy of Day’s Jewelers)
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