GCAL, IDEAL DIAMOND SOLUTIONS PROVIDE JEWELRY RETAILERS WITH ECOMMERCE WEBSITE

06 November 2008

The Gem Certification & Assurances Lab, Inc. (GCAL), the diamond subsidiary of Collectors Universe, Inc., a provider of value-added authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value collectibles, diamonds and colored gemstones, is introducing a customizable website module that jewelry retailers can use at no direct cost to market and sell GCAL-certified diamonds and jewelry to customers.  The website, www.idealdiamondsoultions.com, was designed and implemented by GCAL partner Ideal Diamond Solutions (IDS), a provider of Internet-based e-commerce programs for jewelers, as a free offer from them to encourage retailers to use the Internet as an additional selling tool during the upcoming holiday season and beyond.  It is a free, customizable, interactive business-to-consumer website bearing the retailer's own name and brand identity. Larry Chasin, President of IDS, adds, "This new development in online retailing links to the jewelry retailer's existing website or can be introduced as a new website if the retailer has no Internet presence... we're particularly excited to help retailers become more Internet enabled." Currently, there are more than 2,400 retailers that are registered as members on the Certified Diamond Exchange (CDE), which is a GCAL affiliate and online business-to-business diamond and jewelry market. CDE was established in November 2007 to enable diamond dealers, cutters and jewelry manufacturers to list exclusively GCAL-certified diamonds and jewelry for sale to CDE members that are jewelry retailers. At any one time, there are thousands of GCAL-certified diamonds, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, available for purchase on the CDE, according to a GCAL statement. "This program was designed by IDS to be available for the thousands of jewelry retailers during this holiday season and we are pleased that Larry Chasin and his team selected GCAL and CDE as their partners to provide access to online inventory," says Michael Haynes, Chief Executive Officer of Collectors Universe. "As retailers choose to participate in this free program from IDS, we anticipate an increase in demand for GCAL certified diamonds for this holiday season and, as the program gains momentum, also for the coming calendar year." The IDS website offers a wide selection of GCAL-certified diamonds and jewelry as listed on CDE but priced with a retail margin. As IDS provides a turnkey, or commission-based solution, a participating jewelry retailer can, without capital or investment, offer and sell GCAL-certified diamonds and jewelry from a virtual inventory with the entire administrative interface, including fulfillment, credit card processing, online marketing and customer service provided by IDS. Search engine optimization is also available from IDS for an additional fee.