Gem Awards Inc

What Gem Awards Inc does

Gem Awards Inc, founded in 1988 and headquartered in Cedar City, Utah, is a privately held retailer specializing in custom trophies, plaques, medals, name tags, challenge coins, ribbons, signage, and engravable gifts. The company operates a single physical retail location at 2155 W. 580 N. in Cedar City where all engraving and customization is performed in-house, paired with a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront at gemawards.com and an Etsy marketplace presence. Its manufacturing capability rests on three distinct in-house engraving technologies: diamond engraving (rotary diamond styluses for glass, metals, and personal items), laser engraving (high-power laser removing top coatings for speed and rustic wood aesthetics), and sublimation engraving (heat-press full-color printing onto metal and plastic substrates). These modalities enable a broad product catalog spanning trophies (column, resin, glass, crystal, art glass, value), plaques (traditional, solid wood, team photo, piano finish, perpetual), medals, name tags, challenge coins, LDS missionary plaques, employee recognition packages, brass bells, mantle clocks, wedding server sets, custom photo ornaments, pet tags and urn plates, cast memorial plaques, and door/desk signs.

The company's revenue model combines one-time e-commerce sales of customized physical products with a subscription membership program (Standard at $9.99/month, Business at $19.99/month) that offers monthly store credit, free shipping, and rush production priority. Pricing is structured around transparent per-unit pricing with free unlimited engraving on most products and no setup or per-character fees. Primary customer segments include K-12 schools and universities (academic medals, debate tournaments, name tags, athletics), corporate buyers (employee of the month programs, years-of-service awards, recognition plaques — including Costco), LDS church members (missionary plaques and religious giftware), and individual consumers (wedding, memorial, pet, and personal-celebration gifts). Go-to-market is product-led and self-serve via the WooCommerce site with embedded online design tools (visual trophy builder, name tag designer) that allow customers to configure and preview custom products without sales-assisted interaction.

Operationally, Gem Awards emphasizes 48-hour shipment on 98% of orders, made-in-USA in-house production, no minimum order quantities on custom items, and an aggregated review footprint of over 8,000 five-star site reviews, 10,010 Etsy reviews (EXCELLENT Trustindex), and 649 Google reviews. The company has remained at 1-10 employees, has raised no external capital, and operates entirely as a bootstrapped, founder-owned business, with its most recent commercial moves being the rollout of the subscription membership program and expansion of its SKU catalog into broader personalized gifting.

Name

Gem Awards Inc

Legal name

Gem Awards Inc

Website

https://gemawards.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Gem Awards Inc is a Cedar City, Utah-based, family-owned retailer founded in 1988 that designs, customizes, and ships trophies, plaques, medals, name tags, and engravable gifts to schools, businesses, religious organizations, and individual consumers via in-house engraving and direct-to-consumer e-commerce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Awards and Recognition Products

NAICS

Jewelry and Silverware Manufacturing (339910), Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Retailers (459420)

SIC

Coating, Engraving & Allied Services (3470)

akta.pro primary industry

Engraving, Laser Marking & Personalization (Production) (CRAKAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Personalized & Custom Gift Creation (Engraving/Monogramming/Photo Gifts) (HSACANAC)

Keywords

• Custom trophies awards
• Engraving services
• Recognition products retail
• Corporate awards programs
• Personalized plaques medals

Headquarters

HQ city

Cedar City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. One-Time Product Sales: The primary revenue stream consists of one-time sales of customized awards and recognition products including trophies, medals, plaques, name tags, challenge coins, ribbons, signs, and engravable gifts. Products are sold individually or in quantities with bulk discounts. No minimum order quantities required for most products. Products are customized with laser, diamond, or sublimation engraving and shipped directly to customers.
2. Membership Subscription: Monthly subscription membership program with two tiers: Standard Member at $9.99/month providing $9.99 store credit monthly, 10% discount on every order, member-only specials, free shipping, and rush production. Business Member at $19.99/month providing $19.99 store credit monthly and free standard shipping. Store credits are non-refundable but never expire. Membership billed monthly with no contracts or cancellation fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Gem Awards designs, customizes, and ships a wide range of personalized recognition products including trophies, plaques, medals, name tags, challenge coins, ribbons, missionary plaques, engravable gifts (bells, clocks, photo ornaments, wedding sets), and signage. All engraving is performed in-house at the Cedar City, Utah facility using diamond, laser, and sublimation engraving methods, with most orders shipped within 48 hours and free unlimited engraving included on most products.

Product overview

Gem Awards is a trophy and awards retailer established in 1988, operating from Cedar City, Utah, offering a comprehensive portfolio of personalized recognition and engravable products. The company provides three core engraving technologies—Diamond Engraving, Laser Engraving, and Sublimation Engraving—which power their diverse product categories. The core product line includes Custom Trophies (Crystal, Glass, Art Glass, Column, and Resin trophies), Custom Plaques (Traditional, Solid Wood, Piano Finish, Team Photo, and Perpetual plaques), Medals (Stock BriteLazer/Galaxy/3D Antique/Starbrite lines and Custom insert medals), Name Tags (Business, Wood, Uniform, and SUU-branded tags), Challenge Coins, Award Ribbons, LDS Awards (Missionary Plaques and religious recognition items), Signs (Door/Desk, Plastic, Metal, Cast, and Wall signs), and Engravable Gifts (Bells, Clocks, Wedding items, Pet tags, Photo ornaments, and various personalized giftware). The company emphasizes Made in the USA production with in-house engraving, 48-hour turnaround, free unlimited engraving on most products, and no minimum order requirements on custom items.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Full Color Business Name Tags Custom business name tags with full-color logos, laser engraved on plastic or sublimated on metal, available with magnetic, pin, or hypo-allergenic magnetic clasps for universities, sales organizations, and businesses.
• Wood Name Tags Laser-engraved wooden name tags in Cherry, Maple, and Walnut wood options with size variations from 1" x 3" to 2" x 3", supporting logo uploads and multiple attachment types.
• Custom Engraved Name Tags Personalized badge-style name tags measuring 1" x 3" with multiple color and finish options, available in uniform style with clutch backing for manual labor environments.
• Crystal Trophies Premier crystal awards and trophies laser-engraved with personalization, available in shapes including diamonds, obelisks, domes, and wedges, priced from $39.99 to $279.99.
• Glass Trophies High-quality glass and jade glass trophies individually laser-engraved with personalization, featuring rectangle, oval, and accent designs.
• Premium Art Glass Trophies Art glass trophies featuring unique designs including pyramids, teardrops, egg shapes, and swirling patterns in multiple colors, priced from $89.99 to $199.99.
• Column Trophies Customizable column trophies in 1, 2, and 3-post configurations, featuring an online visual builder for custom trophy design with free engraving.
• Resin Trophies Sports resin trophies capturing live-action moments in Relief Resin, Headline Resin, and Power Resin lines for athletic awards.
• Value Trophies Economy-priced resin trophies including Cobra Awards, Sun Ray Awards, Broadcast Resins, and Shield Awards across multiple sports categories, starting at $9.99.
• Custom Plaques Custom plaques using laser, sublimation, or diamond engraving, available in traditional, solid wood, piano finish, team photo, and perpetual styles with free unlimited engraving.
• Employee of the Month Plaques and Packages Complete employee recognition solutions including perpetual plaques with 12 monthly plates and all-inclusive award packages ranging from $499.99 to $1,499.99.
• Stock Medals Pre-designed award medals in BriteLazer, Galaxy, 3D Antique, and Starbrite lines covering sports and academic categories, priced from $3.99 to $4.99 each.
• Custom Medals Fully customizable insert medals using sublimation engraving, with no minimum order quantities, priced under $7.50 per unit and 24-hour turnaround.
• Custom Challenge Coins Full-color custom challenge coins at 1.75" diameter in gold or silver with plain or rope edge, featuring double-sided sublimation printing and 24-48 hour turnaround, starting at $7.99.
• Award Ribbons Award ribbons including value placing ribbons from 1st to 10th place ($0.85-$0.99) and premium rosette ribbons with gold embossing and pin backing.
• Missionary Plaques (LDS Awards) Diamond-engraved, full-color sublimated, and laser-engraved missionary recognition plaques with access to the world's largest collection of missionary scriptures, priced at $49.99 with 48-hour shipping.
• Brass Bells (School Bells) Solid brass school bells with wooden handles, diamond-engraved with personalization, available in multiple sizes with the 7.5" SB7 being most popular, starting at $19.99.
• Mantle Clocks Customizable mantle clocks available in glass, red piano finish, red alder, and executive rosewood styles with laser engraving options, priced from $44.95 to $234.95.
• Wedding Cake Server Sets Engraved wedding cake knife and server sets presented in satin-lined gift boxes, with complimentary 2-line personalization, priced from $49.95 to $99.95.
• Custom Photo Ornaments Sublimation full-color photo ornaments available in circle, oval, scallop, and rectangle shapes with ribbon attachment, featuring customer-uploaded images on metal substrate.
• Engraved Pet Tags Laser-engraved pet identification tags personalized on both front and back, featuring script and block font options, symbol designs, and floral or outdoor themes, starting at $5.99 with same-day shipping.
• Door and Desk Signs Laser-engraved door and desk signs on two-layer plastic inserts with 15 color combinations, available in 2" x 8" or 2" x 10" sizes with multiple mounting and finish options.
• Plastic Signs Custom laser-engraved plastic signs and electrical panel labels starting at $0.99.
• Metal Signs Custom laser-engraved metal signs including memorial tree plaques, team photo plaques, and sublimated full-color plaques, starting at $0.99.
• Engraved Pet Urn Plates High-quality sublimation-engraved pet urn plates in 12 designs featuring paw prints, hearts, and memorial themes, with peel-and-stick adhesive backing, priced at $7.99 each.
• Cast Plaques (Memorial Tree Plaques) Bronze-cast memorial plaques with gold or silver finish and customizable outdoor-rated inserts, suitable for permanent garden, dedication, and memorial installations.
• Engravable Gifts Wide range of personalized gift items including photo albums, cutting boards, jewelry boxes, tumblers, tie bars, hand-stamped jewelry, leather journals, mantle clocks, bamboo coasters, home signs, lapel pins, wallets, wedding journals, and personalized board games.
• Gem Awards Membership Program Monthly subscription membership offering recurring store credit, 10% discount on all orders (Standard), free shipping, and rush production priority. Standard Member at $9.99/month or Business Member at $19.99/month.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% of orders ship within 48 hours of purchase
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Etsy: Major online marketplace where Gem Awards operates a storefront with 10,010 reviews. Etsy is both a critical distribution channel for Gem Awards and an ecosystem enabler, with thousands of competing small-batch trophy and engraved product sellers.

Direct peers

• Crown Awards: Major direct-to-consumer retailer of custom trophies, medals, plaques, and awards for schools, sports leagues, and corporate recognition programs. Crown Awards competes head-to-head with Gem Awards in the online custom awards category with similar engraving capabilities and price points.
• Trophies2Go: Online retailer specializing in trophies, medals, plaques, and corporate awards with in-house customization. Competes directly with Gem Awards in e-commerce-driven custom recognition products, serving overlapping schools, sports, and corporate customer segments.
• Personalization Mall: Online retailer of personalized gifts and engraved products across many categories including awards, plaques, and recognition items. Overlaps with Gem Awards in the personalized/engraved product space with comparable e-commerce-led GTM.
• Awards.com: Direct-to-consumer custom awards retailer covering trophies, plaques, medals, and corporate recognition products. Competes in the same online-first custom awards category with similar product breadth and customer mix as Gem Awards.
• Edco Awards: Long-established custom awards retailer offering trophies, plaques, medals, and engraved gifts with in-house personalization. Comparable to Gem Awards on product breadth, customization capabilities, and target customers (schools, businesses, and recognition programs).

Broad incumbents

• CafePress: Online personalized products marketplace and retailer offering custom gifts, plaques, and engraved items. Adjacent competitor in the personalized products space with broader product breadth but lower specialization in traditional awards.
• Shutterfly: Large personalized products platform covering photo gifts, ornaments, and engraved keepsakes at scale. While not focused on trophies, Shutterfly's custom photo ornaments and gift items overlap with a meaningful portion of Gem Awards' product mix.
• Terryberry: Broader employee recognition and corporate awards platform offering managed recognition programs alongside physical awards. Larger incumbent with overlapping corporate recognition customers but a wider service portfolio than Gem Awards' pure-product focus.

Emerging players

• Trophy Awards & Gifts: Smaller regional custom trophy and award retailers with in-house engraving capabilities. Represents the long tail of independent trophy shops that compete with Gem Awards on local service and customization, particularly in markets outside Southern Utah.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gem-awards

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gem Awards Inc