Miami-based jewelry brand The Gld Shop has a new investor.
MarcyPen Capital Partners has led a growth round for the brand. Brand Velocity Group also participated in the round, and existing investors include H.I.G. Growth Partners. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but founder, president and chief creative officer Christian Johnston has also increased his investment in the company.
“I see where we are now, and I see the potential of where we can get to,” Johnston said. “MarcyPen brings a lot to the table, they invest in brands across the consumer, and saw we have the potential to be a true cultural leader that moves and creates culture. They are so tied in with culture and their vision aligns with mine.”
MarcyPen was formed in late 2024 when Marcy Ventures, cofounded by Jay-Z, Jay Brown and Larry Marcus, merged with Pendulum Holdings’ investment side of the business. That firm was cofounded by Robbie Robinson and D’Rita Robinson, the former of whom serves as MarcyPen’s chief executive officer. It is one of MarcyPen’s first investments as a joint entity.
“Christian and the Gld team have created an authentic brand that blends connectivity to community, a focus on self expression and customization, accessibility and quality with a strong digital-first strategy,” Robinson said in a statement. “Through leveraging its trusted relationships within relevant and influential ecosystems and partnerships with major franchises, Gld has cultivated a loyal customer base who drive strong organic engagement across social media platforms.”
Johnston sees one of the brand’s key differentiators as its wide range of price points. “The brand was developed to solve a problem in the market where you had really expensive jewelry on one side and really cheap jewelry on the other,” he said. “We came in to create high quality jewelry at a variety of price points, starting at the entry level in the hundreds of dollars. Even with those, you get a lifetime guarantee, and you can grow with the brand — we do super high end as well.”
The brand is currently direct-to-consumer, and the infusion will go toward launching into wholesale. “We have a couple retailers knocking on the door. We’ll always prioritize d-to-c, just because there’s so much demand there, but there’s a whole other layer we can add to this business,” he said. “On top of that, we’ll continue to build out the team and invest in some new marketing initiatives.”
The deal is the latest in a slew of those across price points in jewelry. Webster Capital took a stake in Ring Concierge in May; David Webb was acquired by Middle West Partners in April.