Though its website has been down for a week, Christie’s proceeded with its jewelry and watch auctions on May 13-14, bringing in nearly $80 million.
BriteCo and IGS Are Partnering Up
The partnership between the insurance company and gemology resource will include content and education for consumers.
Evanston, Ill.—Jewelry and watch insurance company BriteCo has announced that it’s partnering with the International Gem Society.
IGS facilitates online gem education, community forums and pricing and buying guides. It boasts over 10,000 global members and 4.5 million website visitors a year.
It also hosts a directory of gemology-related businesses.
IGS Managing Member Seth Rosen stated in a press release: “Over the last 21 years, we have assembled detailed pricing and technical information jewelers can use to help appraise over 70 different gemstones. The values in our guides come from a variety of sources including primary and secondary gemstone dealers, jewelers, miners and wholesale suppliers of commonly traded gemstones.”
BriteCo, meanwhile, is known for its cloud-based Appraisal Management Platform, which allows jewelers to create appraisals in under ten minutes, according to the company.
The tool is free to jewelers who qualify with BriteCo, which bases its appraisal range off of current market data. Retailers then finalize the figure, and customers are given an electronic copy of the appraisal.
BriteCo also sends consumers custom quotes for replacement insurance coverage, allowing them to access insurance immediately through an online process.
A representative for BriteCo said the partnership will include “content and education focused on research and trends for the consumer gemstone market.”
BriteCo founder and CEO Dustin Lemick stated: “We’re excited to be partnering with IGS to enhance the value of our online appraisal management platform. It’s another way for us to provide our jeweler partners with the best product possible, saving them time and effort and helping to make their jewelry businesses more successful.”
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