Richline announces partnerships focusing on wearable tech jewelry

RICHLINE BRANDS ANNOUNCED a strategic partnership with China-based Omate, a hardware and software design company. Here are two Omate watches that will be offered in U.S. and U.K. retailers through the partnership with Richline. / COURTESY RICHLINE BRANDS
RICHLINE BRANDS ANNOUNCED a strategic partnership with China-based Omate, a hardware and software design company. Here are two Omate watches that will be offered in U.S. and U.K. retailers through the partnership with Richline. / COURTESY RICHLINE BRANDS

WARWICK – Jewelry marketer and distributor Richline Brands, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., has announced strategic partnerships with two companies as part of an effort to offer “smart” fine jewelry to retailers.
The announcements, made Monday, involve Omate, a hardware and software design company based in China, and Cuff, a San Francisco-based company, focused on wearable technology.
Richline, in a press release, said the partnership with Omate involves exclusive distribution of certain Omate products, allowing the brand and its technology to become part of its wearable technology jewelry and watches expansion.
In a statement, Dennis Ulrich, CEO of Richline Group, said “two worlds are merging together,” the traditional 100-year-old watch industry and the high-tech hardware and software industry.
Laurent Le Pen, Omate CEO, called the partnership “a great opportunity for our brand to grow and expand globally.”
Said Richline President Dave Meleski, “We believe, after months of R&D, that we will offer our customers products with a fashionable look and fine jewelry feel, that are comfortable to wear every day and have the technology consumers will desire.”
The Cuff partnership, said Ulrich, pairs an “established jewelry supplier with a Silicon Valley player in the smart-jewelry space. This partnership will establish Richline as a recognized leader in this new era of smart, yet fashionable jewelry.”
Richline said Cuff made news last March when it re-imaginesd the look and use of “wearables,” technology that can be worn on the body, such as fitness trackers or glasses that have computers in them. Cuff functions include fitness and social notification, as well as safety and security alerts.

Deepa Sood, Cuff CEO, said, “The result of this partnership will be an explosion in innovative, smart, and beautiful pieces that enhance the lives of women without sacrificing style.”

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