Ross-Simons steps into the ring with Blue Nile and Diamond.com

Ross-Simons, a multi-channel jewelry retailer, has launched an all-certified diamond web site that aims to challenge Blue Nile and Diamond.com, a site owned and operated by Ice.com.

The company`s new site offers thousands of certified diamonds at the “lowest prices anywhere,” says Ross-Simons president and CEO Darrell Ross.

The retailer intends to take advantage of its online and storefront shopping options to give customers multiple buying choices in the competitive world of online jewelry sales, Ross says. Ross-Simons is No. 122 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites.

The company is touting its new web site’s fast, three-step navigation process, particularly targeting “young men looking to purchase their first diamond.” An educational feature provides information about diamonds, with descriptions illustrating the criteria for selecting stones. Shoppers also are given the opportunity to design a ring by selecting from settings and stones offered on the site.

In addition to engagement rings, the site offers diamond earrings, bracelets, rings, pendants and necklaces.

Complementing its web presence, the company operates 15 retail and outlet stores in nine states and mails more than 45 million catalogs annually worldwide, company executives say. Ross-Simons posted 2005 web sales of $63.4 million. In comparison Blue Nile, No. 52 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites, had 2005 web sales of $203.2 million, while Ice.com, No. 193 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites, had web sales of $34.4 million.