se in total online sales, excluding travel, which reached $109 billion in 2005" (Dinnocenzio, 2006).
             There are several key players in today's online jewelry industry. BlueNile.com, Ashford.com, Diamond.com, Mondera.com, Odimo, and Ice.com control a large portion of the virtual jewelry market share. Competition for these companies not only come from traditional bricks-and-mortar jewelry stores, but also from several prominent jewelry store chains that have also entered the online jewelry sales market. Companies such as: Tiffany, Zale Corporation, and Baily, Banks & Biddle all have a significant web presence dedicated to capturing online jewelry sales (Much, 2005). Other online retailers of general merchandise present significant competition as well including: Amazon.com, HSN.com, QVC.com, in addition to the online auction powerhouse eBay.com.
             According to the International Diamond Exchange (IDEX), online jewelry sales are now equivalent to the sales of approximately 2,000 independent jewelry stores, based on the average of $1 million in annual sales per store. "It took seven years (from 1996 to 2002) for online jewelry sales to reach
             ...