Gemist and Saban Onyx team up to streamline custom jewelry sales

A necklace stack may soon be built on screen before it ever reaches a jewel box. Gemist and Saban Onyx are pairing visualization software with U.S.-based manufacturing in a bid to give retailers a “full-on, A-to-Z solution for any retailer that wants to sell custom,” a pitch that speaks directly to shoppers who want layered jewelry to feel considered, not improvised.

The partnership will be demonstrated at Saban Onyx booth #10065 at JCK Las Vegas, where the two companies are positioning customization as a faster, cleaner alternative to the traditional back-and-forth of custom sales. Gemist’s white-labeled flow is designed to live inside a retailer’s website, while Saban Onyx handles production in New York City. The result, the companies say, is a branded custom experience that can move from idea to finished piece without sending a buyer through weeks of uncertainty.

That promise is increasingly central to fine jewelry retail. Gemist moved into B2B in May 2024 after launching around 2020 as a direct-to-consumer brand, and Madeline Fraser has said the company was born from her own frustration trying to design a custom engagement ring online. By June 2025, Gemist’s platform was being described as powering more than 14,000 custom jewelry designs a week, with real-time visualization of metals, stones and settings. Fraser has also said the digital process can compress days of CAD revisions into minutes.

Saban Onyx brings the manufacturing side of that equation. The company says it designs and manufactures fine jewelry in New York City with more than 50 artisans and professionals, and it offers flexible inventory programs, marketing support, CAD assistance and training resources for retailers. Its custom process begins with a sketch and then moves to a wax model or digital rendering, with each piece passing through eight quality checks. On its collaboration page, the company cites 5x engagement, 4x faster sales cycles, 10- to 14-day delivery and 24-hour CAD turnaround, along with 3,000-plus custom designs and more than 50 years of craftsmanship.

The timing is not accidental. JCK 2026 runs May 29 through June 1 at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, with exhibitor setup and early registration beginning May 25. Gemist’s latest funding, a $6 million round in 2025 from Entrada Ventures, The Artemis Fund and Collide Capital, brought its total reported funding to $9 million and underscored investor appetite for software that can modernize a jewelry business still heavily dependent on showroom selling and manual CAD work.

For retailers, the appeal is obvious: a custom sale that feels more immediate, more visual and far less speculative. For shoppers, especially younger Gen Z and millennial customers who expect personalization, the real test is whether digital visualization finally makes layered buying feel as precise as the finished look it promises.