Palladium alliance launches first design contest, newsletter

William George Shuster, JCK Senior Editor -- JCK Online, 10/30/2006 2:00:00 PM

The Palladium Alliance International (PAI), formed to actively promote the use and sale of the precious white metal in jewelry, is widening its efforts to inform the industry and public about it.

• In October, it mailed the first issue of its new bi-monthly newsletter (titled “Luxury Palladium”) to about 1,000 people, including retail jewelers, journalists and others interested in palladium. A second issue will go out by early December. It offers information about palladium and the jewelry industry, PAI events and seminars, and a column called “Manning the Palladium Bench,” by jewelry industry veteran Mark B. Mann, technical consultant to PAI. It deals with the application and use of palladium in jewelry, and developments concerning the precious metal in the jewelry industry. • PAI plans to take the newsletter online in 2007, e-mailing it to anyone in the industry or public interested in receiving it. To get on the newsletter’s mailing list, e-mail Dawn S. McMurtain, PAI director of marketing, at dmccurtain@luxurypalldium.com or info@luxurypalladium.com. • PAI is partnering with the Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America (MJSA) and will sponsor the first-ever Palladium Distinction Award, as part of the 16th annual MJSA Vision Award Design Competition in 2007. The competition is open to professionals, independent designers and students. Entries for the Palladium award must include use of 950 palladium in at 75% of the design. All entries for the 2007 MJSA Vision Award Design Competition must be postmarked by Nov. 30, 2006. Winners will announced and the winning design displayed at the MJSA Expo in New York City in March. For an entry form or more information, contact Louly Vorasane (800) 444-6572, ext. 3037 or PAI at (877) 473-7873. • Other initiatives in development, says John Stark, PAI chairman, include consumer literature for retailers to hand out, showcase signage for in-store at booth displays, and improvement in a site for North America (www.luxurypalladium.com) and international markets. (China is palladium’s biggest jewelry market and one also being cultivated by PAI.)