(New York, NY — June 21, 2012) — Jewelers of America (JA), the national trade association for businesses serving the fine jewelry retail marketplace, has announced that its member companies are featured at the new consumer jewelry search engine, Gemfling.com — thanks to a partnership with Verichannel. Together with JA's "Find a Jeweler " online directory at Jewelers.org and JIC.org, Gemfling now provides an additional way JA membership helps consumers discover JA Member stores online.

"General search engines like Google simply can't provide the precision of a niche search, " says Verichannel CEO Jacques Voorhees. "For instance, keyword searching on its own would not provide the ability to locate a JA Member store — with the qualifications that this denotes — nor would the consumer even know why it matters. Through our relationship with Jewelers of America, Gemfling is able to provide filters based on JA membership, and other value-added attributes

Verichannel beta-launched Gemfling in January as a consumer-version of its popular jewelry-specific trade search engine. Voorhees likens it to a jewelry industry version of Expedia for travel searching, in that it eliminates clutter for consumers searching for jewelry products by featuring only jewelry specific results. At Gemfling.com, visitors search for jewelry via the web, shopping specific categories and/or use a store locator. Within its "Shopping " search, visitors can narrow their results based on different product categories ( "diamonds, " "jewelry ") and various channels like local stores, etailers, brands and comparison sites (ebay, Google Shopping, etc.).

Gemfling highlights JA Member companies with a "Jewelers of America " filter in its "Local Stores " search, allowing jewelry consumers to find reputable JA Member stores located nearby. All JA members who have an email address and website URL on file with JA are included in the Gemfling search results.

"The partnership between Jewelers of America and Verichannel means our members can leverage the value of JA membership to increase their visibility on the Internet, " says JA COO Robert B. Headley. "The special 'Jewelers of America' filter allows consumers to quickly and easily find reputable jewelers near them, and we have already received an enthusiastic response from our membership about this new online resource. "

"Our research demonstrates that buyers prefer shopping in stores, but they go online to research product and sourcing options ahead of time. Gemfling's system of jewelry-industry filters is what makes it so useful for consumers, " says Verichannel Marketing Director Krista Olson.

Retail stores wishing to ensure they are visible in the Gemfling jewelry search engine can do so by registering online at no charge at gemfling.com/register. To become a JA member and be included in the "Jewelers of America" filter, visit www.jewelers.org/join.

Jewelers of America (JA) is the national trade association for businesses serving the fine jewelry retail marketplace, with the primary purpose of improving consumer confidence in the jewelry industry. JA's consumer education arm, Jewelry Information Center (JIC), provides public relations and marketing services on behalf of the fine jewelry and watch industry. JIC's website, www.JIC.org, is the online source for fine jewelry and watch information, trends and shopping tips. Visit www.jewelers.org and www.JIC.org for more information.

Verichannel is a private company launched in early 2011 by Polygon founder Jacques Voorhees, former GIA president Bill Boyajian, and I Hennig & Co., the leading international diamond broker for clients seeking supply from the Diamond Trading Company. Verichannel provides an environment to help jewelry industry retailers and suppliers "find and be found " on the Internet. Verichannel includes a database of loose diamonds listed by Sightholders and other major suppliers world-wide, a Daily Diamond Report^TM of stones freshly graded by GIA, AGS, IGI and HRD labs, a Google-powered system for searching jewelry industry websites, and other resources. Visit gemfling.com and gemfling.com.