GEMME Bijouterie de seconde main

What GEMME Bijouterie de seconde main does

GEMME Bijouterie de seconde main is a French family-founded second-hand jewelry retailer established in 1985 by Véronique Devinaz in Lyon. The company specializes in certified pre-owned 18k gold jewelry — including rings, wedding bands, diamond solitaires, bracelets, necklaces, chains, earrings, brooches, and pendants — spanning antique (pre-1940), vintage (1940-1990), and contemporary periods, with a curated selection of signed pieces from luxury houses such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Mauboussin, Chaumet, and Pomellato. Each piece is expertised by certified gemmologists, authenticated, restored in-house or in local workshops, and backed by a one-year guarantee, with pricing positioned 30-60% below estimated new retail value (ranging from roughly €200 to €59,000 per piece).

The business operates a dual-sided model: it sells second-hand jewelry to individual buyers and purchases gold and diamond jewelry from sellers, providing cash payouts based on gold weight, market prices, and gem quality. Ancillary services include jewelry repair and restoration (ring sizing, stone setting, cleaning, polishing), online valuation requests, and certified authentication. Distribution is through four physical boutiques — Lyon Lafayette (flagship, 1985), Lyon Presqu'île (2017), Villefranche-sur-Saône buy-back center (September 2023), and Grenoble (2024) — plus a French-language e-commerce website and an English-language international storefront targeting cross-border buyers of vintage and signed pieces.

Customers are individual consumers seeking quality jewelry at reduced prices, jewelry collectors and enthusiasts sourcing unique vintage and signed pieces, and individuals looking to liquidate unwanted gold and jewelry. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investment, venture funding, or parent company. Marketing relies on the established regional brand, in-store expertise, verified customer reviews (4.8/5 from 188 Avis Verifies reviews), email newsletters, blog content, and word-of-mouth from the boutique locations.

Name

GEMME Bijouterie de seconde main

Legal name

GEMME Bijouterie de seconde main

Website

https://gemme-les-bijoux.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Short description

GEMME is a family-founded French retailer specializing in certified pre-owned 18k gold and gemstone jewelry, operating four boutiques across Lyon, Villefranche-sur-Saône, and Grenoble alongside an e-commerce platform. It serves individual consumers seeking authenticated vintage, antique, and signed luxury jewelry at 30-60% below new prices, and buys gold and jewelry from sellers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Secondhand Jewelry Retail

NAICS

Jewelry Retailers (458310)

SIC

Retail-Jewelry Stores (5944)

akta.pro primary industry

Pre-owned Fine Jewelry Dealers (CRAKAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Stone Setting & Gemstone Replacement (CRAKALAC), Bridal Diamond Jewelry (Earrings, Necklaces, Bracelets) (CRAKACAD)

Keywords

• Secondhand jewelry retail
• Pre-owned gold jewelry
• Jewelry buyback services
• Gemstone authentication
• Jewelry restoration services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Secondhand jewelry sales: Sale of pre-owned jewelry including rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and brooches in 18k gold with diamonds and precious stones. One-time transaction model with prices 30-60% below new value.
2. Gold and jewelry buy-back: Purchase of gold jewelry and diamonds from customers, providing cash payouts based on gold weight and gem quality. Customers can sell at boutiques or request online estimation.
3. Jewelry restoration services: Workshop services for ring sizing and jewelry restoration, offered to customers as part of their purchase guarantee and for existing jewelry owners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

GEMME is a French multi-location jewelry retailer that sells certified pre-owned 18k gold jewelry — including rings, wedding bands, diamond solitaires, bracelets, necklaces, chains, earrings, brooches, and pendants — sourced across antique, vintage, and contemporary eras and from luxury houses such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Mauboussin, and Chaumet. Pricing is positioned 30–60% below new retail values. The company also purchases gold and jewelry from customers, provides online valuation requests, and offers in-house workshop restoration (ring sizing, stone setting, polishing).

Product overview

GEMME Bijouterie de seconde main is a multi-location French jewelry retailer specializing in pre-owned 18k gold jewelry. The company operates as a unified retail platform across four physical boutiques (Lyon Lafayette, Lyon Presqu'île, Villefranche-sur-Saône, and Grenoble) plus an e-commerce website. The product portfolio centers on certified pre-owned jewelry across all major categories: alliances (wedding bands), bagues (rings), solitaires (diamond solitaires), bracelets, colliers (necklaces), chaînes (chains), boucles d'oreilles (earrings), broches (brooches), and pendentifs/medaillons. Products span multiple eras from antique (pre-1940), vintage (1940-1990), and contemporary styles, with a curated selection of signed pieces from luxury houses (Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Mauboussin, Chaumet). All pieces are expertised by certified gemmologists, restored in-house, certified authentic, and backed by a 1-year guarantee. Pricing is positioned 30-60% below new retail value. Services include jewelry repair and restoration, gold/jewelry buyback, and online valuation requests.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Alliances d'occasion (Pre-owned wedding bands)
• Bagues d'occasion (Pre-owned rings)
• Solitaires d'occasion (Pre-owned diamond solitaires)
• Bracelets d'occasion (Pre-owned bracelets)
• Colliers d'occasion (Pre-owned necklaces)
• Chaînes d'occasion (Pre-owned gold chains)
• Boucles d'oreilles d'occasion (Pre-owned earrings)
• Broches d'occasion (Pre-owned brooches)
• Pendentifs, médailles et croix d'occasion
• Bijoux signés d'occasion (Signed designer jewelry)
• Bijoux contemporains (Contemporary jewelry)
• Bijoux anciens (Antique jewelry, pre-1940)
• Bijoux vintage (Vintage jewelry, 1940-1990)
• Bijoux homme d'occasion (Pre-owned men's jewelry)
• Atelier & services de réparation (Workshop & repair services)
• Rachat d'or et bijoux (Gold and jewelry buyback)
• Estimation de bijoux en ligne (Online jewelry valuation)

Quantifiable outcome

• 30-60% savings compared to new jewelry prices
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• 1stDibs: Online marketplace for luxury furniture, fashion, and jewelry including authenticated vintage and antique pieces. Comparable to GEMME in serving collectors of vintage and signed jewelry, though it is a multi-category marketplace rather than a specialist jewelry retailer.

Broad incumbents

• The RealReal: US-headquartered luxury resale platform with in-house authentication and a curated jewelry vertical. Comparable to GEMME in its expertise-led authentication model, but operates at vastly greater scale and online-only, without physical boutique retail.
• Histoire d'Or: Largest French jewelry retail chain, operating more than 250 stores selling new gold and diamond jewelry. Comparable to GEMME as a French consumer jewelry retailer, though it sells new rather than pre-owned pieces and competes mainly on entry-level price points.
• Christie's Jewelry: Global auction house with a significant jewelry department covering signed, antique, and important stones. Comparable to GEMME in handling authenticated pre-owned fine and signed jewelry, but operates at the high end of the market through auction rather than fixed-price retail.
• Vestiaire Collective: Global online luxury resale marketplace with a meaningful jewelry category. Comparable to GEMME in facilitating second-hand luxury jewelry transactions, but operates as a peer-to-peer platform rather than as a vertical retailer with owned inventory and gemmological certification in-house.

Direct peers

• Godot & Fils: Paris-based second-hand and antique jewelry specialist founded in 1925. Closely comparable to GEMME in its gemmologist-led, expertise-driven approach to authenticating and reselling pre-owned fine and signed jewelry across all price tiers.
• Héron Prestige: French second-hand luxury jewelry retailer that buys and resells authenticated signed pieces. Directly comparable to GEMME in targeting buyers of pre-owned luxury jewelry with provenance and certification, although operating primarily through online channels rather than physical boutiques.
• Or en Cash: French national gold and jewelry buyback chain with physical counters. Operates the most directly comparable business model to GEMME — buying and reselling gold and second-hand jewelry through owned retail locations — though it is broader and more transactional, with less curated vintage inventory.
• Comptoir National de l'Or: French gold-buying franchise with physical counters across the country. Comparable to GEMME's buyback arm and to the broader second-hand jewelry trade, though it focuses almost exclusively on bullion-weight transactions rather than curated fashion and signed pieces.
• Erajewski Bijouterie: Long-established French second-hand and vintage jewelry specialist based in Paris with similar expertise-driven positioning. Directly comparable in offering authenticated pre-owned signed and antique jewelry (Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Boucheron, etc.) with gemmologist-led valuation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 GEMME Bijouterie de seconde main