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RAPAPORT... Jewelers of America (JA) confirmed that its member companies are now featured on Gemfling.com, a new consumer jewelry search engine, as the result of a partnership with Verichannel. Together with JA’s “Find a Jeweler” online directory at Jewelers.org and JIC.org, Gemfling provides an additional way for consumers to locate JA member stores online. “General search engines, like Google, simply can’t provide the precision of a niche search,” said Verichannel's chief executive, Jacques Voorhees. “For instance, keyword searching on its own would not provide the ability to locate a JA member store – with the qualifications that this denotes – nor would the consumer even know why it matters. Through our relationship with Jewelers of America, Gemfling is able to provide filters based on JA membership, and other value-added attributes.'' Verichannel launched its Gemfling in beta mode in January as a consumer-version of its trade search engine. Gemfling.com visitors may search specific categories or use a store locator and they can narrow results based upon different product categories such as diamonds, brands and comparison sites. Gemfling highlights JA members with a “Jewelers of America” filter in its “Local Stores” search. JA's chief operating officer Robert B. Headley said, “The special ‘Jewelers of America’ filter allows consumers to quickly and easily find reputable jewelers near them, and we have already received an enthusiastic response from our membership about this new online resource.”
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