Caratwise Launches Custom Jewelry Platform, Taps Former Signet Exec as CEO

David Berdugo spent more than a decade at Signet helping build the digital infrastructure that put pressure on independent jewelers. Now he's running a platform designed to fight back on their behalf.

Caratwise, an intelligent custom-jewelry platform owned by Indian diamond giant Hari Krishna, launched this month and named Berdugo as its chief executive officer. The announcement drew coverage from JCK on March 11 and National Jeweler on March 12. Before joining Caratwise, Berdugo served as chief operating officer of Signet's Blue Nile and James Allen brands, where he helped lead the digital-first channels that redefined online bridal and intensified competitive pressure on independent retailers.

The platform's core promise is what the company calls a "same-day yes": a jeweler can sit down with a customer, design a piece, set a price, and confirm a delivery date without leaving the counter. The software allows jewelers to configure, price, and confirm a custom engagement ring in real time, with metal costs and diamond selection adjusted on the fly. Caratwise also offers white-label software that can be embedded directly on a retailer's website, giving independents a customer-facing design tool they would otherwise have to build or license themselves.

Berdugo framed the platform's value proposition in terms of access, not features. "Independent jewelers don't need another tool," he said. "They need certainty. Caratwise gives them control over pricing, production, and delivery in one seamless workflow. When a jeweler can confirm a custom order with confidence at the counter, it transforms the sales experience." He told JCK that by his measure, "85% of customers want personalization for bridal, and all things being equal, they prefer to buy at independent jewelers. But the challenge for independents is they don't have the money to install sophisticated custom-design technology on their site. The big e-tailers have the technology, but they're not local, so they don't have the same trust." That 85% figure is Berdugo's own claim and has not been independently corroborated.

The competitive logic is pointed. Berdugo helped scale the very platforms that widened the technology gap between large e-tailers and neighborhood jewelers. Caratwise positions itself as infrastructure to close that gap, built to help independents tackle margin pressures, supply volatility, and rising demand for personalized bridal pieces.

Caratwise is currently working with a select group of jewelers and plans to expand later in 2026, according to JCK. The company has not disclosed the names of its pilot partners, the commercial terms retailers pay to access the platform, or which manufacturing and fulfillment partners handle production. It also has not confirmed publicly whether the platform supports colored gemstones, lab-grown diamonds, or categories beyond engagement rings. Those details will matter considerably to independent jewelers evaluating the system's full utility against their existing supplier relationships and custom workflows.

What is clear is the strategic signal behind the hire. Hari Krishna, one of India's largest diamond producers, backing a retailer-facing technology platform puts the company closer to the point of sale than a traditional supplier would be. The full scope of that integration, and what it means for the independents Caratwise aims to serve, remains to be seen as the platform's rollout expands through the year.