Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** Pandora’s move to platinum-plated bracelets marks a strategic pivot amid volatile precious metal markets, reflecting a broader industry trend toward cost stability and material innovation.
The soaring and highly volatile prices of gold and silver are forcing jewelers to seek alternative materials for their collections. Pandora, known for its iconic silver bracelets, has been compelled to change the precious metal it uses for its jewelry in order to reduce its dependence on silver and gold, whose prices have surged and become volatile. The Danish jewelry brand will introduce platinum-plated versions of some of its best-selling bracelets this year, according to a press release on Wednesday.
The company stated that this decision was made after “the price of silver and gold has soared over the past year.” The platinum-plated range will be extended to its selection of charms in the second half of the year, it added.
Pandora, founded in Copenhagen in 1982, now has approximately 2,400 stores in over 100 countries, according to its website. Its share price has fallen 63% over the past year.
Pandora’s move “shows a business that is undergoing a significant recalibration of its product offering, customer value proposition, and supply chain,” wrote analysts at Jefferies on Wednesday. The shift also underscores how jewelry manufacturers are being forced to reconsider materials and pricing as precious metals markets become increasingly volatile, following a year of historic gains.
Pandora is not the only luxury jewelry brand moving away from silver. Executives at LVMH said in an earnings call in January that they are directing Tiffany & Co. to reduce its dependence on silver and move toward gold and fine jewelry.
Silver has been on a dizzying rally, with prices rising up to 70% in January after an increase of approximately 170% last year, driven by a combination of tight supply, strong investment demand, heavy industrial use, and speculation. Spot prices hit an all-time high above $121 per troy ounce last week before falling up to 36% on Friday, the white metal’s worst single-day drop since 1980. Prices have since recovered some losses, but analysts continue to warn that volatility is likely to remain elevated.
Spot silver was trading around $77 per troy ounce at 9:49 p.m. ET on Wednesday, still up about 25% year-to-date. Spot gold, meanwhile, is around $4,862 per ounce. Platinum prices have also risen sharply alongside silver and gold. The metal rose approximately 165% last year and has risen about 8.4% so far this year, reinforcing the cost pressures facing jewelry manufacturers.