When Madeline Fraser tried to buy a custom engagement ring online in 2017, she couldn’t believe how broken the experience was. She found glitchy interfaces, and clunky CAD renderings that offered little clarity. Eventually, she gave up, drew a sketch, handed it to a family jeweler, and hoped for the best.
That ring became the inspiration for Gemist, the company Fraser founded in 2020 to bring jewelry shopping into the digital age. “I was unable to purchase a piece of fine jewelry online,” Fraser told National Jeweler last year. “And that blew my mind.”
Gemist now powers over 14,000 custom jewelry designs each week, offering brands and retailers a white-labeled software solution that delivers hyper-realistic 3D visualizations, dynamic pricing tools, and a no-inventory customization model. Gemist just announced a $6 million seed round from Entrada Ventures, Artemis Fund, and Collide Capital, bringing its total funding to $9 million.
“We’re solving the biggest pain point in the industry: how to confidently sell jewelry online,” Fraser said.
Serving a Lagging Industry
Jewelry is a $300 billion global industry, yet it remains one of the most technologically underserved corners of retail. Most custom jewelry transactions, especially for engagement rings, still involve multiple in-person meetings with manual CAD mockups.
The opportunity to modernize was clear. Fraser, a three-time founder with a background in furniture and interior design tech, recognized that jewelry shared similar pain points: high average order values, deeply personal taste, and the difficulty of visualizing a custom product. With experience building visualization tools for furniture buyers at companies like Hutch, she knew how to translate ambiguity into clarity.
The result is a B2B SaaS platform built specifically for the jewelry industry. Retailers and designers use Gemist’s tools to offer consumers real-time customization options for metal, stone, size, and design. Renderings are nearly indistinguishable from product photography, enabling stores to offer a full range of products without keeping inventory. Gemist also supports both online and in-store use, allowing brands to meet consumers wherever they shop.
“We give brands a turnkey way to deliver those experiences digitally, without the cost and complexity of building their 3D toolkits,” Fraser said.
Gemist’s full-stack platform is designed to serve both fine jewelry designers and retailers. Partners like Greenwich St. Jewelers use the tools to scale unique collections while maintaining brand integrity. With no inventory required, Gemist helps stores avoid expensive photoshoots and unsold stock. If a CAD file exists, a jeweler can instantly offer dozens of variations: different metals, carat sizes, or stone shapes, all presented in interactive, lifelike 3D.
Jewelers report significant efficiency and revenue gains. Michelle Berlinger, CEO of Berlinger Jewelry, said Gemist’s platform “cut our design process from days to minutes” and helped clients buy confidently without needing to visit a showroom.
In pivoting to B2B, Gemist learned from its early days as a direct-to-consumer brand. The company initially offered a “try-before-you-buy” model, shipping sample replicas to shoppers. That test phase yielded critical insight: shoppers who engaged with customization tools were 2.5 times more likely to place high-value orders, and the company saw return rates fall to below 2%, versus a national average above 30%.
Building for Vertical SaaS and AI
Gemist’s platform reflects real-world specs and inventory logic. The AI generates accurate representations of unique, high-ticket goods, and integrates them into complex retail workflows.
Fraser believes this is what differentiates Gemist from earlier attempts to digitize jewelry. “Unless that experience is figured out, and that funnel is optimized, you’re going to have high bounce rates, low engagement, and abysmal conversion,” she told National Jeweler.
With new funding in place, Gemist plans to grow its engineering team and expand its capabilities across pricing, rendering, and e-commerce integration. Its go-to-market strategy remains measured: rather than onboard as many clients as possible, Gemist focuses on deep, embedded partnerships with brands that align with its vision.
Gemist is betting that AI-driven customization, if implemented thoughtfully, can make the jewelry business more scalable, and modern, with Fraser being clear about the long-term ambition: “I want to define an industry. I want to change something. And I want to see innovation happen.”
