Charles & Colvard Rejuvenates Brand with New Website, Expanded Product Selection and Improved User Experience

11 Oct 2016, 00:00 AM CDT

Company offers second color grade of Forever One moissanite and
launches an optimal e-commerce website to reach millennial consumers

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$CHTR #foreverone—Charles
& Colvard, Ltd. (NASDAQ: CTHR), the original and leading
worldwide source of created moissanite, today debuted its new e-commerce
website offering a second grade of Forever One^TM moissanite,
new jewelry styles and an improved user experience. Forever One is now
available in G-H-I quality based on the Gemological Institute of
America’s diamond grading scale. This new, near-colorless gemstone is
currently available in limited quantities on the Charles & Colvard^®
e-commerce website, www.charlesandcolvard.com.
The new web presence, redesigned for today’s consumer, also offers
expanded styles of bridal and fashion-forward Forever One jewelry.

“When I joined Charles & Colvard, we set in motion a strategy to
capitalize on the significant opportunity to educate consumers and raise
awareness for moissanite,” said Charles & Colvard President and CEO
Suzanne Miglucci. “I’m proud to say we’re executing well on the strategy
we put in place for 2016. With the launch of our new web presence,
products and styles, we continue to deliver on our strategy to help
bring moissanite to the forefront of the market.”

Charles & Colvard’s strategic execution includes:

Launching a new e-commerce website speaking to the targeted millennial
audience
Answering the demand for Forever One by offering a second grade of
superior moissanite
Expanding the popular bridal category with new and elevated jewelry
styles
Selling a wider variety of high quality, fashion-forward jewelry styles

The new Charles & Colvard website offers a look and feel that aligns
with the company’s plan to reach the millennial consumer. “We’ve
consolidated our web properties and refreshed our brand in a way that
helps us better tell our story,” said Miglucci. “We believe moissanite
has long been the best kept secret in the jewelry industry, and this new
platform is our vehicle to educate the market about the world’s most
brilliant gem.”

Charles & Colvard introduced Forever One moissanite to the market in
September 2015, and it has been met with significant market acceptance
and demand. Forever One G-H-I is the result of continuous research and
development working with Forever One. Forever One moissanite eliminates
the artificial distinctions between value and beauty and offers socially
responsible fine jewelry to the consumer who is thinking beyond
traditional choices.

To complement the expansion of moissanite options and to offer consumers
a wider variety of products, Charles & Colvard now offers new bridal
jewelry styles and a selection of fashion-forward jewelry appropriate
for any occasion. Additionally, Charles & Colvard now offers expanded
warranty coverage to include protection against damage to its moissanite
gemstones.

“We strive to make high quality, socially responsible gemstones that
exceed expectations. We believe in our products and want all of our
customers to be extremely confident in their purchases as well as our
brand. It’s for this reason that we’ve expanded our warranties—to help
communicate our level of commitment to producing a premium product,”
said Miglucci.

To shop for Forever One moissanite and experience the new Charles &
Colvard brand, please visit www.charlesandcolvard.com.

About Charles & Colvard, Ltd.

Charles & Colvard, Ltd., based in the Research Triangle Park area of
North Carolina, is the original creator and leading source of Forever
Classic™, Forever Brilliant^® and Forever One™ moissanite
gemstones for fine jewelry. Moissanite is unique, available in three
color grades (colorless, near-colorless and faint color) and produced
from silicon carbide (SiC) crystals. Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite^®
is sold with a Certificate of Authenticity and Limited Lifetime Warranty
to wholesale distributors, manufacturers, retailers, TV shopping
networks, and designers as loose stones or set in a wide variety of
quality metal setting options. Charles & Colvard, Ltd. also sells direct
to consumers through its wholly owned operating subsidiary,
charlesandcolvard.com, LLC and through third-party marketplaces. Charles
& Colvard, Ltd.’s common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select
Market under the symbol “CTHR.” For more information, please visit www.charlesandcolvard.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Statements expressing expectations regarding our future and projections
relating to our products and strategy are typical of such statements and
are made under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements about our plans, objectives, representations, and contentions
and are not historical facts and typically are identified by use of
terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “plan,”
“anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “continue,” and similar
words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed
differently.

All forward-looking statements are subject to the risks and
uncertainties inherent in predicting the future. You should be aware
that although the forward-looking statements included herein represent
management’s current judgment and expectations, our actual results may
differ materially from those projected, stated, or implied in these
forward-looking statements as a result of many factors including, but
not limited to, our dependence on consumer awareness, acceptance, and
growth of sales of our products resulting from our strategic
initiatives; dependence on a limited number of customers; the impact of
the execution of our business plans on our liquidity; our ability to
fulfill orders on a timely basis; the financial condition of our major
customers and their willingness and ability to market our products;
dependence on our exclusive supply agreement with Cree, Inc. for the
sole supply of the raw material; intense competition in the worldwide
jewelry industry; our ability to maintain compliance with the continued
listing requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; our current
wholesale customers’ potential perception of us as a competitor in the
finished jewelry business; quality control challenges from time to time
that can result in lost revenue and harm to our brands and reputation;
general economic and market conditions; risks of conducting business in
foreign countries; the risk of disruption of our operations by natural
disasters; the pricing of precious metals, which is beyond our control;
the potential impact of seasonality on our business; our ability to
protect our intellectual property; the risk of a failure of our
information technology infrastructure to protect confidential
information and prevent security breaches; the impact of significant
changes in e-commerce opportunities, technology, or models; the failure
to evaluate and integrate strategic opportunities; possible adverse
effects of governmental regulation and oversight; and the impact of
anti-takeover provisions included in our charter documents, in addition
to the other risks and uncertainties described in our filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, including our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 and
subsequent reports filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date they are made. We undertake no obligation to update
or revise such statements to reflect new circumstances or unanticipated
events as they occur except as required by the federal securities laws,
and you are urged to review and consider disclosures that we make in the
reports that we file with the SEC that discuss other factors relevant to
our business.