SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gepco, Ltd. (GEPC), announced today that its GemVest subsidiary has generated $605,000 in diamond sales in its first quarter of operations. Sales efforts began on March 17th, which means the company generated these figures in only 14 days of activity. GemVest’s net profits were approximately $65,400, or 10.8% of revenues. The 10.8% net profits compare favorably to the industry average of 7.6% as reported by Yahoo Finance: http://biz.yahoo.com/p/742conameu.html
“We are happy to report that GemVest is off to a solid start. With only 14 days of sales we sold $605,000 worth of diamonds,” said Peter Voutsas, CEO of GemVest, a subsidiary of Gepco, Ltd. “Our initial goal is to reach $3.75 million per month in sales,” he added.
Diamonds are rapidly becoming the next hard asset class to be institutionalized. Gold, once only available in ingots and krugerrands, was turned into an exchange traded fund, or ETF, called the GLD. This funneled billions of dollars into the physical purchase of gold which we believe caused gold prices to skyrocket. Fortune Magazine1 reported as recently as February 19, 2014 that an exchange traded fund backed entirely by real diamonds is in the works which could be the first diamond ETF as investment grade diamonds are beginning to trade on private exchanges, with public exchanges not far off.
Executive Chairman Angelique de Maison commented: “According to www.worlddiamondcouncil.org, the global diamond jewelry market is roughly $72 billion worldwide. There are over 54,000 jewelry stores and an additional 23,000 brokers, agents and designers in the US alone. The goal of the company is to become a leader in investment grade diamonds and build a worldwide network of diamond industry participants that invest in diamonds as an asset class.”
About GemVest:
GemVest (www.gemvest.com) sells and brokers high-end rare investment grade diamonds and gemstones. These gems are obtained from two principal sources: international wholesale diamond cutters with which our CEO, Peter Voutsas, has long, outstanding relationships, and individuals and estates possessing investment grade diamonds and heirloom quality jewelry who are seeking liquidity.
Mr. Voutsas has also established a worldwide reputation as a purveyor of exquisite, extraordinary fine quality precious stones and jewelry pieces that are retailed in an elegant but friendly environment on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California, and sold at competitively reasonable prices. Mr. Voutsas has an international clientele that includes individuals from every continent who are known to be buyers of investment grade stones and exquisite rare heirloom jewelry items. The placing of such exquisite jewelry and gemstones is one of Mr. Voutsas’ most noted talents and helps enable Mr. Voutsas to gain top dollar and quick turnover for virtually each such item.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT: This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements about the business plan and prospective financial condition of Gepco, Ltd. (including its operating subsidiary GemVest, Ltd.) The forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including that the parties may not complete the transaction or that when completed, the transaction might be different than presently contemplated. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Gepco, Ltd. does not undertake any obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. In addition, any forward looking statements regarding forward expected industry patterns and other financial and business results that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from results expressed or implied by this press release. Such risk factors include, among others: whether Gepco, Ltd. can successfully execute its operating plan; its ability to integrate acquired companies and technology; its ability to retain key employees; its ability to successfully combine product offerings and customer acceptance of combined products; general market conditions; and whether Gepco, Ltd. can successfully develop new products and the degree to which these gain market acceptance. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements in this press release.
1 For Investors, Diamonds Might Be The New Gold – 2/19/14 – http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2014/02/19/for-investors-diamonds-might-be-the-new-gold/