eBay Partners with GIA to Authenticate Fine Jewelry

RAPAPORT... E-commerce giant eBay has expanded its authentication service for jewelry through a partnership with the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).The Authenticity Guarantee, which launched last week, will soon include new and pre-owned pieces from top designer brands such as Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, David Yurman, Cartier, and Tiffany & Co., eBay said. Jewelry is the fifth category the company authenticates, following sneakers, watches, handbags and trading cards."Jewelry has always been a popular category on the marketplace, and its growth shows how consumer demand is only increasing," said Tirath Kamdar, general manager of luxury at eBay. "As we continue to listen to our community of luxury enthusiasts in order to foster an even more trusted shopping and selling environment, expanding Authenticity Guarantee to jewelry was a crucial next step for our business."Through the new offering, GIA experts will verify each piece of jewelry to ensure the condition, quality and description match the listing. All verified pieces will receive a unique authentication card with a QR code, which buyers can scan to find out more about their piece and its certification journey.eBay's Authenticity Guarantee builds on a previous jewelry-verification service the online seller launched in 2018. That offering covered 45,000 pieces of jewelry ranging in price from $250 to $20,000 from the company's top sellers, and was authenticated by a third party. The new service will apply to a larger assortment of jewelry priced at $500 and above, and, unlike the previous one, there is no extra charge to sellers for offering this service, eBay told Rapaport News. On average, 7.8 million items of fine jewelry are listed on eBay per day, with 4.2 million purchased from the site last year, the company noted. Meanwhile, sales of fine jewelry on the site from brands including Chopard, Harry Winston and Hermes are up 38% year on year over the past six months, eBay added.Image: An authenticator verifying a piece of jewelry. (eBay)