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Richline’s Gemvara Adds Lab-Grown Diamonds to Ring Builder
A major retailer also is testing the platform, and Richline said it plans to expand to more retailers later this year.
Gemvara is now offering consumers the chance to use lab-grown diamonds and gemstones as the center and/or accent stones on their custom-built rings.
New York—Gemvara, the e-commerce site for custom jewelry owned by Richline Group, is getting into the lab-grown game.
The company announced this week that it is now offering customers both natural and lab-grown diamonds as well as colored gemstones as options on its ring builder.
Gemvara is selling lab-grown center and accent diamonds as well as lab-grown sapphires, rubies and emeralds 3 mm and larger for most jewelry styles.
Richline said the initiative is currently in a “private test” with a “large retailer” under the name Gembuilder.
The company is not disclosing which retailer is testing the initiative at this time, though it seems likely it is one of the sizable retailers owned by parent company Berkshire Hathaway.
Berkshire Hathaway owns 210-store chain Helzberg Diamonds and 92-store chain Ben Bridge Jeweler along with Borsheims in Omaha, Nebraska.
Richline said it will expand the program to a limited beta test group later this year, allowing retailers to utilize Gemvara’s customization platform for their own customers for both complete designs as well as semi-mounts with lab-grown diamond accents.
Gembuilder is slated for a wider rollout in 2020.
When asked the source of its lab-grown diamonds for Gemvara/Gembuilder, Richline said it is not releasing that information at this time.
The sale of lab-grown diamonds on Gemvara is Richline’s second initiative involving lab-grown diamonds after the launch of “Grown With Love” at J.C. Penney and Macy’s last year.
For that line, Richline sources some of the lab-grown diamonds from WD Lab Grown Diamonds.
“By adding both the Gemvara and the upcoming Gembuilder launch to the company’s already robust lab-grown diamond offerings, we are proud to be at the forefront of this exciting new space with an innovative experience that offers modern shoppers meaningful choices,” Richline Group President and CEO Dave Meleski said.
For more information on Gembuilder, email gembuilder@richelinedigital.com.
Richline will exhibit at the upcoming JCK Las Vegas jewelry trade show, scheduled for May 31-June 3 at The Venetian and Sands Expo.
Contact Michael Schechter, mschechter@richlinedigital.com, for an appointment.
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