It was champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries at the Polygon booth on Friday as the company that bills itself as “the jewelry industry’s online marketplace” celebrated its 20th anniversary at The JCK Show ~ Las Vegas.

The company uses Internet technology to create a business-to-business marketplace for the jewelry industry. But until the Internet came along the company struggled while trying use a variety of technologies, including satellite dishes and Telenet technology, to build what it always wanted to be: “a community that focuses on bringing sellers and buyers together,” said Jacques Voorhees, Polygon president and CEO.

“When the Internet came along, suddenly it was ‘Wow, this is easy’ and all of our problems disappeared,” he says. “But then the competitors came along.”

He adds, “We never get mesmerized by technology. The technology serves as the facilitator in what we want to build: a community.” In fact, he refused to start his business until he was able to bring on 100 members.

Voorhees says that Polygon is similar to a trade show that brings buyers and sellers of diamonds together. And with a database of $1.6 billion worth of polished diamonds, he says he believes his inventory is the largest on earth.

Polygon now has 3,000 members, and Voorhees says he plans to expand his business internationally and into finished jewelry.

“I intend to leverage the largest community of jewelers who are sourcing online,” he says.

JCK