Arcade is leveraging the power of AI to democratize the jewelry space.
The new platform created by Minted founder Mariam Naficy and backed by the likes of Karlie Kloss, Christy Turlington Burns and Colin Kaepernick is launching an AI platform Wednesday that allows users to turn their ideas into physical jewelry.
Arcade, which is coming out of its beta testing phase, is described as a “prompt-to-product marketplace.” Users are first prompted to input their idea for a jewelry piece, which can range in specificity from a simple style like a chainlink bracelet to a more intricate piece like a zodiac pendant necklace with gemstones.
The AI platform then generates an array of images to meet the user’s criteria, which can then be edited based on the user’s preferences, such as swapping out other colored gemstones or changing the chain length or thickness. The pieces can be produced in sterling silver or 14-karat gold.
Naficy stated she anticipates the platform will be used regularly for engagement rings, which Arcade can create with lab-grown diamonds.
Arcade has teamed with 12 manufacturers — which the platform refers to as “makers” — to create the jewelry. Once the user inputs their idea, the AI platform determines which manufacturer is best capable to produce the item and the request gets routed to them. Arcade’s manufacturing partners are located in New York, Los Angeles, India and Thailand.
Ring styles from Arcade.
Courtesy of Arcade
“We have about 12 [manufacturers] and we’re adding a lot more,” Naficy said. “But I’m trying to balance things so that we don’t flood the market because when we build the marketplace, we have to balance out adding too many makers before the customers even know about it. We try to pace the supply of designers with the pace of sales growth.”
Naficy said Arcade’s model also helps these manufacturers, many of which are smaller operations, who want to do custom work, but find challenges in interpreting client requests.
“Basically, they want to do more custom work, but it’s really hard for customers to communicate just with language versus with pictures,” she said. “I see this as AI gives an opportunity for you to communicate with other people via images, which is a much easier way to explain what you want, so that’s the genesis of it. We turn your thoughts into things.”
While Arcade can translate myriad user ideas into physical jewelry, there are some limitations. Naficy stated the main limitation is materials, as the platform only has an array of gemstones and materials like sterling silver and 14-karat gold in availability from its manufacturing partners. If a user inputs an idea utilizing materials that Arcade doesn’t have access to, the image of the product will have a “coming soon” marker and will not be available for purchase. Naficy said Arcade is working on expanding its materials quickly.
“We have a complexity model that gives each product a complexity rating, and based on that score, it gets routed to different makers,” she said. “Also, it determines if we can make it or not, so to build this business we had to fine tune some underlying principles with our own data.”
Arcade’s jewelry styles
Courtesy of Arcade
Arcade’s complexity model also determines the products’ price point.
Naficy explained the AI platform is also designed to filter out any brand names and popular jewelry styles to avoid copyright infringement. For instance, if a user were to enter “Van Cleef & Arpels necklace” into the AI platform, Arcade would register the designer name and instead offer images of “designer-quality” necklaces. More specifically, if a user entered “Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra necklace” the platform would register both the designer name and style name and instead offer images of four-leaf clovers and floral motifs that are distinct from the designer style.
Users can also submit an image of a piece of jewelry for production through Arcade, which Naficy said she’s seen in the platform’s beta testing from customers who want to recreate a family heirloom or a lost piece of jewelry. She stated Arcade might still flag the submission as plagiarism, however, customers can directly contact the brand to explain why they want to reproduce the style.
Arcade also enlists a group of what it calls “dreamers,” who are content creators who have ideated their own collection of jewelry that’s available for purchase. These content creators earn a commission when their styles are purchased.
Naficy stated she sees Arcade as a vast marketplace that operates in other categories beyond jewelry. She stated customers’ number-one request is for Arcade to enter apparel, however, Naficy explained the category will likely not be Arcade’s next area of expansion because of sizing challenges. She said Arcade is currently eyeing other accessories categories for its next expansion.
“There’s a story behind every product here and you can make something quite personal and very meaningful,” she said. “If there was a barbell in retail between disposable fashion that’s really cheap and then very meaningful precious things, I think we’re more on the other end of the barbell. Everything we make is personal and precious here.”
