Increasing demand for white precious metal jewellery

DonovanPalladium is adding to the demand for white precious metal for jewellery after just weeks of its status being made 'official'. The palladium hallmark, which can only be struck in the UK by one of the four independent Assay Offices, came into force on July 22. Although this mark is voluntary until December 31, nearly 5,000 articles were hallmarked by the four UK Assay Offices in the first few days of its introduction.

Every item of gold, silver or platinum sold in the UK must be hallmarked unless under a specified weight. The hallmarking numbers released by the four UK offices can be used as a barometer of trends in the market. Volumes of 9ct gold have recently been in decline from nearly 24 million articles in 2001 to just 8 million in 2008.

Michael Allchin, chief executive of The Birmingham Assay Office, said: "The rising price of gold coupled with the increasing choice of quality, well made jewellery in silver, platinum and now palladium makes white metal very attractive. We are very encouraged by the positive response to palladium hallmarking." However, separately a recent report published by World Gold Council (WGC) suggested that despite a decline in overall demand for gold, the market remains robust.