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Platinum Guild International (PGI), India’s 2024 Buyer-Seller Meet
A Multi-City Celebration of Tradition, Style, and Spiritual Significance—Special Akshaya Tritiya Showcase Set for Edison, New Jersey
Shaping Platinum’s Future
Platinum Guild International (PGI) India concluded yet another successful edition of its annual ‘Platinum Buyer-Seller Meet,’ on the 4th and 5th of July 2024. Every year, the prestigious event, brings together the leading names from across the jewellery industry and offers them a platform to collaborate and work towards collective business development for platinum. Held at the Grand Hyatt, Kochi, the recently concluded event, continued to serve as a significant business opportunity for partner retailers and manufacturers under the PGI program to share new designs, innovations, cutting edge technology and best practices while reviewing the latest platinum jewellery collections.
The energy and enthusiasm across the manufacturer booths reaffirmed the growing demand for platinum jewellery across all three PGI brands – Platinum Evara, Men of Platinum and Platinum Love Bands. Retailers were given an exclusive preview of the highly anticipated MS Dhoni Signature Collection, set to launch later this year, just in time for the festive and wedding season. The overall demand for platinum was evident in the substantial purchases and restocking undertaken by the retailers for the upcoming season. This event set a positive tone for the months ahead, with an air of optimism and confidence.
The event witnessed a key announcement on the metal innovation front as well, with the creation of a new platinum alloy that has the potential to transform platinum jewellery design and manufacturing. Inoveo Platinum, has been formulated in response to the challenges jewellers experience when working with platinum.
In his presentation Benny Oeyen, Executive Head of Market Development for Platinum Group Metals, Anglo American said, “Inoveo Platinum will provide the jewellery industry the best that platinum can provide. It is a new platinum alloy created with the help of artificial intelligence and digital chemistry to reflect the workability of white gold, while enhancing the core properties of Platinum, including its naturally white colour, durability and wear resistance. So Inoveo Platinum is all about the benefits of Platinum with the ease of white gold. It will help transform platinum jewellery design and manufacturing.”
The evening gala dinner was prefaced by very informative speeches and presentations by Vaishali Banerjee, Managing Director, PGI India and Tim Schlick, Chief Executive Officer, Platinum Guild International (PGI) outlining the accelerated growth of platinum jewellery in the Indian market. Sujala Martis, Director Consumer Marketing, shared the marketing programme line-up for the season. The exciting new marketing initiative with M S Dhoni got an overwhelmingly positive response. The Evara Squad, a unique idea to build cheerleaders and brand evangelists for women’s platinum jewellery was met with high interest from retailers and manufacturers. A brief overview of the upcoming trade agenda was shared by Pallavi Sharma, Business Director PGI India. She stressed on driving volume growth. She also emphasised on the criticality of delivering higher profitability via the proven success of exclusive designs in bi-metal jewellery across categories and differentiating to create value for the consumer via retailer exclusive collections in platinum.
Vaishali Banerjee, Managing Director of PGI India addressed PGI India’s strong partnership with leading retailers and manufacturers and said, “It is heartening to see the event emerge as a marquee industry event with such enthusiastic participation from retailers, manufactures and industry leaders. Platinum jewellery has come a long way and the success of such events highlights the large potential platinum jewellery has in the country across all markets. We are grateful to our partners for their overwhelming response. The new designs and collections will feature as part of the upcoming collections for the festive and wedding season.”
Tim Schlick, Chief Executive Officer of Platinum Guild International (PGI), shared his thoughts on the 2024 Platinum Buyer-Seller Meet: “The recently concluded Platinum Buyer-Seller Meet highlighted the immense potential of the platinum jewellery industry in India. This annual event symbolizes our commitment to nurturing and empowering strategic partnerships with retailers and manufacturers. Our goal is to create value for our partners, and the BSM allows us to demonstrate how we achieve this, including driving incremental business opportunities, identifying new segments, building differentiation, and targeting a sustainable traffic of younger consumers. Our primary intention is always sustainable growth, ensuring long-term benefits for all our partners.”
- Event marks 42 years of Incorporation and 16 years of Operations
- Recently-appointed Consul-General’s first visit to the Bourse helps strengthen a century-old bond
- Long service awards presented to outstanding employees
Bharat Diamond Bourse today marked 42 years of incorporation and 16 years since the commencement of operations at the BDB Complex in BKC with a special programme graced by H. E. Pierre Stverlynck – Consul General of Belgium in Mumbai as Chief Guest and a number of leading diamantaires.
The function was organised to celebrate the crucial roles played both by the visionaries who conceptualised the need for a centralised infrastructure to boost the diamond trade over four decades ago, and the employees who have run the daily operations in a highly efficient and professional manner.
In his Welcome Address, BDB Vice President, Mehul Shah explained the significance of celebrating twin milestones – 42 years of incorporation and 16 years of operations. He said:
“BDB began with a vision and is now the world’s largest operational bourse, and a symbol of India’s leadership in the diamond world and excellence in every aspect of operations.”
He added, “It is significant that the Consul General of Belgium is with us on this special occasion. Antwerp and Mumbai have a very close relationship, going back more than 100 years. Today the two cities have bonds based on trust, trade and friendship. We are committed to strengthening this bond over the next century as well.”
Congratulating the awardees he said that members may be the owners, but it is the staff who run the complex and have helped build it as the “best of the best” centres for diamonds. “Personal integrity combined with hi-tech surveillance have made BDB one of the safest places in the world,” he explained, and urged all present never to forget that “it is the soldiers who fight and win the wars.” Mr Shah offered compliments to all the awardees and congratulated Team BDB.
Speaking on the occasion, Anoop Mehta, President BDB, welcomed Mr Stverlynck who has recently assumed charge as Consul General of Belgium in Mumbai.
“We are sure that this will be the first of many visits to our Bourse,” he said, noting that the Consulate is the nearest neighbour of the complex.
“The BDB leadership has always enjoyed a very special relationship with the Belgian consulate,” he added, “built on the longstanding bonds between the diamond industry in our two countries.”
Mr Mehta said it was heartening that so many employees had remained loyal to the BDB for multiple years, and urged all gathered to reach out through their department heads to put forward suggestions for further changes and improvements
Mr Stverlynck, who was on his first visit to the Bourse after assuming charge as Consul General, said he was extremely impressed with the facilities available for exporters within the complex. Assuring the trade of cooperation and support, he said he was happy to be personally present to celebrate such a remarkable institution as BDB that has become a key pillar of the India diamond industry.
Congratulating the leadership for its role in steering the bourse, as well as those employees who had received long service awards, Mr. Stverlynck said:
“The consolidated knowledge and experience of so many from those at the top to a number of others who contributed in various ways, is an asset to the industry.”
Special long service awards were presented to employees who completed special milestones during the year. These included 30-year, 25-, 15-, 10- and 5-year service awards to a few employees.
Belgian Consul General H. E. Mr. Pierre Stverlynck Graces BDB Annual Day
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