You might not yet have heard the name Mene (Vancouver: MENE), but you could soon enough, especially if you’re in the market for fine jewelry, explains Frank Holmes, CEO & chief investment officer of U.S. Global Investors and editor of Frank Talk.
Founded in 2017 by Roy Sebag, co-founder of gold financial services firm Goldmoney, and Diana Widmaier-Picasso, granddaughter of — you guessed it —Pablo Picasso, Mene’s mission is to disrupt the gold jewelry market by selling directly to the consumer and pricing its merchandise fairly and transparently.
Unlike traditional sellers like Tiffany & Co. (TIF) and Cartier, which sometimes have high premiums, Mene prices its jewelry based on the changing value of gold.
It then charges a 15 percent to 20 percent design and production fee on top of that. What also sets the company apart is that its jewelry—from earrings to necklaces, bracelets to charms—is made of 24-karat gold or platinum. No alloys, no insets of diamonds or other stones.
That’s done to help the pieces retain their value over time. Here at U.S. Global Investors, we believe gold is money and a timeless investment. Mene, which takes its name from the Aramaic word for “money,” has clearly run with that idea, going so far as to trademark the phrase “investment jewelry.”
It’s a business model that seems to have resonated with consumers and investors alike. In its first 10 months of operation, Mene did as much as $7 million in sales in more than 53 countries, as of October 2018.
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