China, India and the United States, the major platinum jewellery markets, would be hit hardest if the white metal catches up with the gold rally, a senior executive at Platinum Guild International said on Monday.
Platinum prices have underperformed gold recently, but last week they rose to nearly seven-week highs spurred by interest from Asian investors and jewellers which fuelled expectations of further upturns.
Francoise Izaute, head of the industry-funded PGI for Italy and France, said the world's biggest platinum jewellery markets where demand is driven by bridal and other low price items would be the most vulnerable in the face of possible metal price rally.
"For markets like China and India where consumers are price conscious, we can see a fall in sales volumes," Izaute told Reuters at the international jewellery fair in Vicenza. "In the United States, it is the mid market which is very important and it may suffer," she said. PGI has been taking measures to offset the possible negative impact by helping platinum jewellery manufacturers to boost efficiency, make lighter weigh items and trim manufacturing metal loss, she said.
Europe, where rich buyers of big-ticket luxury jewellery are the main drivers of sales, would be more resistant to price shocks, she said. "In Europe, customers are more sophisticated and ready to pay higher prices," she said.
Platinum jewellery sales in France, a rapidly growing consumption market, were expected to post a double digit growth in sales in terms of value and number of sold items this year, powered by bridal sector and watches, Izaute said.
She said there were indications of strong Christmas orders for platinum jewellery from retail in France. Christmas is a crucial season for jewellers as it may account for up to 50 percent of annual sales. Izaute was more cautious about sales forecast for Italy, a major and already saturated world market.