Upshot? Advantage consumers-lovers of studded jewellery and industrial users of sparkling diamonds, shining platinum and of course, the glittering gold. So, if gold still continues to be a perfect hedge against inflation for millions of India in semi-metros and villages, it is platinum - said to be high octane gold - that has began luring members of the upper class.

And, those sparkling diamonds? Well, wait till De Beers and the 130-year old French luxury goods group LVMH Moet Mennessy Louis Vuitton come up with their joint marketing exercise. Both the companies announced on January 16, 2001, their plan to establish a new company to `unlock the value of the De Beers Brand.' In India, the frequency of De Beers' highly sophisticated ads on the teleboob's prime time slots have slowed down, if not discontinued totally.

So, some of the top gold producing members and representatives of the prestigious World Gold Council (WGC) are congregating in London on January 22 and 23 to discuss the various possibilities of increasing the demand and consumption of the yellow metal which has taken a beating over the past one year. WGC's figures show that global gold demand during the third quarter of 2000 was down 8 per cent to 807.1 tonnes. Against this, the average gold price have slumped from over $400 per oz in 1994-95 to around $270-275 per oz currently.

Given this background, the WGC after almost five years of absence in direct marketing, has announced an increased adspend over the next two years in this direction. However, WGC's Indian representative Derrick Machado says: ``We have not yet finalised the regionwise adspend." The meeting in London is sure to finalise these and other related issues.

Interestingly, the WGC's meeting comes at a time when the Bank of England (BoE) is scheduled to announce the 2001's first sale of gold on Tuesday. Bullion traders on the London Metal Exchange, New York's Commex and Mumbai's informal, parallel and illegal `Commex' et al are awaiting for the impact of the sale on gold prices which till recently were said to be `murmuring in sleep.'

Similarly, the Platinum Guild International (PGI) too has become active in its awareness campaigns all over the world, more so after the overall slide in its investment and coins market following the 50 per cent plus jump in its prices.

In India, the presence of platinum as a prestigious choice of precious metals for elegant jewellery is increasingly felt since September-October last through subtle, silent awareness campaigns by the PGI, which is active in promoting the rarest of the precious metals not just offline, but even online. PGI promises to help interested parties build a market for the metal through its own marketing support and even through customised marketing for its clients!

Interestingly, for various reasons, the prices of platinum have been climbing since the past more than one year. These have touched a high of $612-615 per oz in the third quarter of 2000 from just under $340 in 1998 - almost 80 per cent jump in just two years!

One of the reasons for platinum's higher prices is the fact that contrary to gold and silver, there are no large above ground platinum stockpiles to fill the gap against significant supply disruptions. And approximately eight tonnes of raw ore must be mined to produce just pure one ounce of platinum. The overall demand of platinum is said to exceed supply by 280,000 oz following on from a record deficit of 730,000 oz in 1999.

So, the platinum producers seem to be having a cakewalk in the global market. While the overall demand for gold sliding, that of platinum's is said to be rising, more so in industry than in investment. Little wonder, therefore, the prices have jumped to over $630 per oz, from under $350 in mid-1999.

And platinum's demand is not just for jewellery, coins, small and large investment bars and investment products. The industrial demand for platinum is expected to rise by more than 105,000 oz, led by increases in the electrical, electronic, glass and auto catalyst industries. And there are no above ground stockpiles to meet the rising demand.

So, if the precious metals and diamond producers expect good rewards from their awareness creating exercises, the challenges to lure the buyers are huge and multifaceted.