Fine jewelry has reached sales online of at least $1.9 billion and, according to Jewelers of America, a New York association for retail jewelers, that figure is expected to grow.
Now, three Web sites that go live this week are doing their best to get a piece of the business. ChicSherlock.com, Canadia.com and Whiteflash.com are all introducing new approaches to shopping for a diamond engagement ring or necklace, earring and ring suite.
“If you do a Google search on fine jewelry, you get such random results,” said Alia Ahmed-Yahia, a former fashion and accessories editor at Vanity Fair and Vitals, who founded ChicSherlock.com, which goes live on Thursday and will sell fine jewelry from Yossi Harari, Cynthia Wolff, Kara Ross and Hanut Singh, among others. “I wanted to create a site where people, especially those who may not live in New York and have access to a place like Barneys or Bergdorf, can shop from an edited collection with a specific point of view that turns over seasonally.”
ChicSherlock will merchandise its assortment on pages that are shot to resemble a fashion magazine. The site will also include a “jewel box,” where customers can store their picks, as well as features like a “Chic of the Week” that promote specific styles.
“The imagery on the site sets the tone for a luxury experience online,” said Ahmed-Yahia, who plans to build an e-mail database through which she can reach potential customers.
Canadia, the firm founded in 2002 to distribute loose diamonds mined in Canada, as well as jewelry made from those diamonds, is launching the Canadia Online Boutique on its Web site. A Beta site is up and running and e-commerce is set to be available Sept. 5. The boutique will allow shoppers to custom-build a Canadia jewelry design by selecting the cut, carat size, color and clarity of the diamonds in the piece, as well as the setting, which is available in platinum and 14- or 18-karat yellow or white gold.
Each diamond in a piece will come with paperwork certifying the stone was mined in Canada under Canadia’s ethical guidelines, which include efforts to protect the environment and the human rights of the diamond industry workforce. Finished pieces can be delivered directly to the customer or sent for pickup at the nearest Canadia retailer.
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Debi Wexler, chief executive office of Whiteflash.com, an online retailer of loose diamonds and fine jewelry, said sales at the site since its launch in 2000 have reached $27 million. Nevertheless, she felt it was time for an update.
Whiteflash has undergone a complete makeover that offers a sleeker aesthetic and is more user-friendly. The redesign will go live today. Wexler anticipates the updated concept for the site, which makes room for five new collections, including Extraordinary Pieces, Whiteflash’s premium collection of necklaces, diamonds and earrings that can retail for upward of $325,000, will result in sales of $17 million to $20 million this year, a 30 percent increase over last year.