After almost a decade available on the market, Aurate is seeking to the following stage of its business.

The direct-to-consumer superb jewelry brand is gearing up for its first major retail partnerships this month after securing its series B funding in the primary quarter of this yr. Terms of the investment weren’t disclosed; nevertheless, Aurate stated it has raised $25 million thus far. 

Aurate is embarking on two retail partnerships this month with Macy’s and Helzberg Diamonds, creating respective sister brands sold exclusively on the retailers. Audrey by Aurate will launch at Macy’s on Saturday and Laure by Aurate will launch at Helzberg Diamonds on Tuesday.

“We all the time desired to democratize real gold. That’s still the mission of the brand,” said Sophie Kahn, chief executive officer, cofounder and jewellery designer at Aurate. “A part of the great thing about Aurate is that it’s for all kinds of girls. In fact, online you may gather rather a lot [of customers], but sooner or later there’s going to be a limit. Then the query is the in-person experience. So, you essentially have a few options. You may open a bunch of stores, but that takes numerous capital, or you may partner with these sorts of legendary people out there that know tips on how to do that, aka, wholesalers and retailers.” 

Aurate’s retail partnerships come after the superb jewelry brand experimented with its own foray into retail. The brand previously had several stores in Recent York and California, but closed them after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. 

“We realized that what we’d sell in-store in a month, we sold online in a day,” Kahn said, noting Aurate’s online business has grown 50 percent year-over-year. “The efforts to run the shop were almost similar to online, so it just wasn’t price it from a juice-to-squeeze ratio.” 

Kahn stated Aurate may open a flagship down the road, but is currently focused on its retail partnerships.

Aurate’s two sister brands each have their very own distinct look, while staying true to the superb jeweler’s signature styles. Kahn explained that Audrey by Aurate offers chunkier jewelry styles for the Macy’s customer, while the Laure by Aurate collection for Helzberg Diamonds offers more traditional pieces, a few of that are just like Aurate’s own dainty styles. The sister collections also proceed Aurate’s commitment to sustainability through the use of recycled gold and ethically sourced gemstones.

Each collections leverage Aurate’s bestselling styles and recreate them to suit each retailer’s customer. Audrey by Aurate will offer 144 styles across rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces with a median price of $500. It should be sold at 167 Macy’s stores and online. Laure by Aurate will offer 111 styles across rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces ranging in price from $100 to $1,300 and be sold at 30 Helzberg Diamonds locations and online.

“It’s definitely a unique audience,” Kahn said about who the target market is for each collections. “For each [retailers] they’ve a web based component, but they’re huge in-store they usually are known for that. It’s very much for the lady that wishes to purchase in-store and may now try this through these wholesalers and hopefully get something latest. We don’t think there’s going to be numerous overlap [with the Aurate customer].” 

Kahn stated Aurate plans to make use of its series B investment in a variety of ways, including expanding its team, in marketing campaigns and continuing its retail partnerships. Aurate’s last fundraising round was in 2019, when the brand garnered $13 million in series A funding.