Eternz, a jewellery marketplace headquartered in Bengaluru, has recently secured $1.15 million (approximately INR 9.6 crore) in pre-seed funding led by Kae Capital. Other participants in this funding round include Gemba Capital, IIMA Ventures, TDV Partners, and Venture Lab.
This funding injection is earmarked for expanding Eternz’s footprint in urban India and forging partnerships with international brands aiming to establish a presence in the Indian market. Additionally, the company plans to establish a retail experience center to offer customers a hands-on approach to jewellery shopping.
Founded in 2023 by Arthi Ramalingam, a former marketing lead at Udaan, Eternz functions as an online marketplace showcasing both Indian and international jewellery brands. The platform provides customers with features like customization and personalization, along with direct sales of jewellery.
According to the founder and CEO, Eternz endeavors to address the trust and discovery issues consumers encounter when purchasing jewellery online. By fostering strategic partnerships with brands, the company aims to bolster the distribution of these brands by connecting them with highly interested customers.
Presently, Eternz’s product lineup includes items from renowned brands such as GIVA, Angara, Kisna, and Touch925, with a focus on fashion and silver jewellery. However, the company plans to broaden its offerings to encompass gold and diamond jewellery shortly.
In the online domain, Eternz faces competition from established players like BlueStone and Caratlane, as well as various other brands and jewellery chains such as Tanishq, which have ventured into online retail.
In terms of scale, Caratlane and BlueStone emerge as the dominant online jewellery marketplaces within the startup ecosystem. Earlier this year, Tata Group’s Titan acquired Caratlane, valuing the marketplace at over $2 billion after a deal that had been in progress since 2016. Caratlane, boasting a revenue of INR 2,177 crore in FY23, outpaces Bluestone, which reported revenue of INR 771 crore in the same fiscal year.