Sriram “Ram” Natarajan is now GIA’s senior vice president of laboratory operations and is based out of the lab’s headquarters in Carlsbad.
PGI Opens Its First Platinum Jewelry Showroom
The new space in Shenzen, China was designed to create a demand for the metal with younger consumers.

Hong Kong—Platinum Guild International has opened its first platinum jewelry-dedicated showroom in Shenzhen, China.
Designed to showcase new design trends using the precious metal, the PGI showroom includes display cabinets and windows that will be refreshed every month to showcase industry partners’ new platinum jewelry collections in a “a welcoming environment that caters to the modern aesthetic of younger consumers,” PGI said.
The décor features a blue color scheme that the marketing organization said is aligned with the metal’s qualities of purity, rarity, elegance and sophistication.
The showroom also is equipped with various multimedia aspects to display new jewelry products.
A spokesperson for PGI confirmed to National Jeweler that while there isn’t yet a set plan for a second showroom, the organization is open to the idea.
“Research has shown that the number one barrier to acquiring platinum jewelry in recent years has been the lack of appealing designs, so PGI has worked closely with key industry manufacturers and retailers to fast forward the adoption of new designs,” CEO Huw Daniel said.
“This showroom will showcase the abundance of new designs now available, together with innovative ways to merchandise and brand collections for today’s discriminating consumers.”
It comes as part of PGI’s strategy to build a stronger presence in a traditional, gold-intensive jewelry market by boosting the manufacturing and distribution of platinum designs and targeting China’s younger consumers.
The strategy also included the establishment of the Platinum Jewellery Advisory Council in August, which featured a meeting of leading brands, distributors and retailers of platinum jewelry to discuss PGI’s China strategy as well as branding, marketing and trends.
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