Mark Taylor, Chief Experience Officer of Gembridge, a new regulated trading platform for coloured gemstones, pearls and jewellery due to launch in early 2021, talks about how Gembridge strives to accurately present the true nature of consigned gemstones.
In this interview with Jewellery Outlook Editor David Brough, Mark talks about Gembridge’s use of the latest technologies, combined with thorough lab certification, to showcase the gemstones exactly as they are.
Gembridge is passionate about its desire to represent the true nature of coloured gemstones, pearls and jewellery listed on the digital trading platform, says Mark Taylor, Chief Experience Officer.
“One of the greatest challenges in buying and selling gemstones online is accurate and true representation,” he says.
“From a gemstone’s physical attributes to its provenance and history, telling a gemstone’s true story accurately and thoroughly is a vital part of Gembridge facilitating ‘trade with trust.’
“We refer to this as capturing a gemstone’s ‘true nature’. It’s a bit of an obsession for us really: we are constantly exploring new ways to capture every gemstone’s true nature as thoroughly and accurately as possible.”
How do you capture a gemstone’s true nature?
Besides providing accurate information about each listing, Gembridge works closely with industry experts and creative specialists to get the most out of every shoot it conducts in the Gembridge studio.
“We add to our accurate eye views and experimental loupe view photography with video content that includes expert assessments in the studio,” Mark says.
How does Gembridge organise a shoot?
Trading members inform Gembridge that they would like to book the Gembridge studio when they submit an item for listing.
“We schedule a shoot day at our Gembridge studio, which is protected by a Jewellers Block insurance policy,” Mark says.
“We shoot the item/s with our proprietary techniques and all footage is assessed by our experts on site to ensure the image and video footage is as accurate as possible, compared to the original item/s.
“The item/s are them returned to the seller while we prepare the footage for the listing.”
Capturing ‘True Nature’ is constant work in progress.
“We are experimenting with innovative new photographic techniques and we are exploring new cutting-edge technologies too,” Mark says.
“We have some very exciting innovations in the pipeline, not only for capturing the true nature of gemstones, but also for how our members can view and assess our listings remotely, on any device.
There are currently no costs for trading members to use the Gembridge studio in 2020.
How important is the description of the gemstone?
The description of a consigned item is very important as it elaborates on the information in the lab certificate, Mark says.
“Beyond that, our review video gives an authentic assessment of every gemstone that passes through the Gembridge studio.”
Gembridge meticulously describes an item’s imperfections in the listings.
“We go to great lengths to be truthful,” Mark says.
“Beyond the certification provided by reputable labs, our descriptions provide an objective assessment of the gemstone’s properties and provenance, and our Gembridge Review videos offer highly respected experts’ assessment of each listing in an authentic way.”
These reviews are very entertaining but also highly informative, as the viewer sees the gemstones in the expert’s hand while listening to their commentary.
REGISTER NOW
Gembridge are now inviting members of the trade to pre-register for its launch in early 2021. As well as familiarising yourself with gembridge.com, you can complete the member verification process, including a peer review and an international KYC-Know Your Customer/AML-Anti Money Laundering screening, enabling you to join an exclusive membership with other respected industry players. You will also be able to view and buy listings from pioneer clients in the Showcase section.
At launch, Gembridge will invite verified members to list their own precious stones and jewellery on the platform and start to sell and consign.
Gembridge looks forward to helping you Trade with Trust. You can pre-register, find out more or collaborate by completing this form:
https://gembridge.com/register/
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