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RAPAPORT... Platinum Guild International USA (PGI USA) unveiled its plans for 2015 during a breakfast for platinum designers and manufacturers in New York City's Smith and Maloney's Skylight Room. The first announcements were about shows in the coming year, starting with Centurion. Platinum designers will be part of the Platinum Destinations program, which designates participants with signage. For JCK Las Vegas, platinum exhibitors will be provided with table-top signs and a freestanding mirror that allows buyers to see how the platinum jewelry looks when it is being worn. The guild has also promised that due to manufacturer and designer requests, it will have a presence at the Couture show in Las Vegas at the end of May, but final details are not yet available. For the past several years, PGI USA has hosted the Platinum Innovation Awards. This year will mark a few changes to the program. The categories will be narrowed to three — Platinum Bridal, Fashion Platinum and Entry Level Platinum. Designers and manufacturers are asked to submit high-resolution photos of their platinum pieces, which will be showcased in an online gallery, an exclusive panel of judges will narrow the field and the remaining pieces will open to additional voting. Entries are due by April 24, 2015. This year sees a continuation of the relationship between PGI and costume designer Lyn Paolo as part of the "Celebrity Influencer" program. Paolo is the costume designer for the ABC television show "Scandal" and she dresses Kerry Washington's character, Olivia Pope. The collaboration with bridal and event planner David Tutera also continues. And look for a ramped up presence on the red carpet. Platinum Guild will also continue its social media outreach by working with bloggers. PGI invites six jewelry bloggers into its offices and then lets them try on the jewelry in an effort to familiarize them with the precious metal. A consumer perception study was also conducted. One of the questions that consumers were asked was: "How would you describe platinum if it was a person?" Confident, alluring and savvy were some of the most often used adjectives to describe the white metal. It is also identified as being the metal of "passionate people," which spawned the online media headline "Passion Changes Everything." The ads with that new slogan run digitally on several channels, including The Knot, Refinery 29 and Colin Cowie Weddings. In addition, the guild has created a content hub on preciousplatinum.com featuring designer bios, consumer-generated content, videos and, of course, platinum jewelry.
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