Charles & Colvard, in a decisive geared toward turning the tide of its business, has launched a business-to-business digital portal for selling loose gems to independent jewelers.firm, which specializes in moissanite and other lab-grown gems, has shifted its wholesale business model away from distributors through the formation of the
In other Charles & Colvard news, two key partnerships were formed, with Fred Meyer Jewelers, and the Army & Air Force Exchange Service. Fred Meyer Jewelers, a national chain owned by the Fred Meyer hypermarket, which is a subsidiary of Kroger, will sell online the Charles & Colvard moissanite collection of over 80 styles of pendants, earrings and rings in 14-karat recycled gold, including bridal, fashion and everyday pieces.
On Tuesday, Charles & Colvard named actress Skyler Samuels as brand ambassador. According to the announcement, “Samuels will be the new face of the company’s mission to create conflict-free, beautiful, and ethical,” starting with the upcoming Mother’s Day promotion. Samuels is best known for her roles in television series such as “Wizards of Waverly Place,” Marvel’s “The Gifted,” “Scream Queens,” “American Horror Story” and the Aurora mystery movies.
“Our lab-grown diamond business also remains strong. But the problem is, the price has dropped so much. There’s very little margin there.” Retailers, he said, are questioning whether they should continue with the lab-grown diamonds “just because there’s very little margin and a lot of competition. Or do they look to moissanite where they can create margins.” Both moissanite and diamonds are graded by the four “Cs” — color, clarity, carats and cut, though moissanite is a bit softer than diamonds.