In Latest Acquisition, Quality Gold Buys De-ani

Fairfield, Ohio—Quality Gold has acquired De-ani, a California-based manufacturer best known for its gold and sterling silver pendants, for an undisclosed amount.

It is the latest in a series of acquisitions for Quality Gold as the company “continues to accelerate our growth potential and product offerings,” CEO Michael Langhammer said in a company statement.

All operations, including the invoicing and shipping of De-ani merchandise, has been moved to Quality Gold’s facility in Fairfield, Ohio.

Quality Gold plans to publish a charm and pendant catalog, which will include the De-ani Collection, in May.

New De-ani styles will gradually become available online at QGold.com and in Quality Gold’s printed catalogs throughout the next year, the company said.

De-ani founders Richard and Robin Elmassian said they plan to assist Quality Gold as part of the transition team.

“Richard and Robin are involved in the transition. Once that is finished, they then will be primarily working with our design staff on product development to grow our charm line,” a Quality Gold spokesperson said in an email to National Jeweler.

The acquisition is part of a long-term strategic plan to strengthen the company’s vertical positioning, said Quality Gold Chief Operating Officer Jason Langhammer.

The company has been amassing quite the empire over the last few years, making acquisitions across the United States and overseas.

Its list of acquisitions includes gold jewelry supplier Leslie’s, California-based supplier Star Ring Inc. and its Romance Ring division, giftware and jewelry company Luxury Giftware by Jere LLC, and Chicago-based supplier North American Jewelers Inc. as well as its wholly-owned subsidiary Steckbeck Jewelry PVT LTD in Mumbai.

As the ink dries on another acquisition, Jewelers Board of Trade President Richard Weisenfeld’s recent statement that the industry will continue to shrink in the coming years seems on target.

JBT tracks the number of jewelry businesses leaving the industry, divvying the “business discontinuances” into three categories: businesses that closed, consolidated via a sale or merger, or filed for bankruptcy.

The number of consolidations in North America rose 4 percent year-over-year in 2018 to 157 among retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers, compared with 151 consolidations in 2017.