To be eco-sustainable

As a percentage of production and increased costs, what effect has the uncertain situation of the last three years had?
2020 caused the industry to decline by about -20/25%, while 2021 saw a significant double-digit growth of +50%. The first half of 2022 - which recorded an absolutely positive trend - was followed by a slight slowdown in the last two quarters. In spite of everything, however, a flat, and therefore positive, closure compared to 2021 can be noted. Moreover, the increased price of the non-precious metal component, combined with energy and gas costs and an increase in labor, service and maintenance costs, led to an average rise of between 5% and 15% in the cost price of our industry’s products.

Which segment has been most affected by these changes and which has benefited?
In the aforementioned scenario, gold is undoubtedly the precious metal that has been most affected by the rise in prices and related costs with repercussions for the entire segment of reference. Platinum, on the other hand, has benefited from this situation by recording a positive increase in both consumption and retail sales as a result of the price remaining stable or falling. Lastly, silver, which remains a widely consumed product due to its stability in terms of price, also deserves a mention.

What is Legor's 2022 flagship product and why?
We are not talking about a product but rather of an approach that is increasingly more oriented towards a concept of responsibility, which for Legor, is applied to the social, governance, environmental and business levels. Our value proposition now takes on an increasingly responsible guise, which translates into a focus on raw material sourcing. According to industry studies (circulareconomy. europa.eu), the use of recycled metal has a considerable environmental impact: it is estimated that air pollution can be reduced by 80% and water pollution by 76%. Using recycled metal can lead to a reduction in water consumption of around 40%! As of September 2021, Legor Group is among the first companies in the industry to be able to certify, through RJC's Provenance Claim and Chain-of-Custody, that its alloys, powders and galvanic solutions are made from 100% recycled precious metals. This year we also inaugurated the Legor 3D Metal Hub: an innovative hub whose aim is to offer customers the chance to experiment and produce jewelry and fashion accessories from precious and non-precious metal powders by introducing the new and revolutionary Binder Jet 3D Metal Printing technology onto the market, a novel 3D printing method as an alternative to precision casting that does not require the combustion of waxes or resins, nor the use of plaster.