Charles & Colvard, Ltd., is a US publicly traded company that distributes and manufactures jewelry. It was founded in 1995 by Charles Eric Hunter under the name C3 Inc.,[2] and then run by his brother Jeff Hunter until 2000.[3][4] The company changed its name to Charles & Colvard in 1999.[5] The company employs 63 people full-time, and generated $32.4 million in revenue during the year ending June 30, 2019, up from $27.91 million in the previous year.[6]
Charles & Covard was the first company to produce and sell synthetic moissanite,[7] under U.S. patent US5723391 A, first filed by C3 Inc., North Carolina.[8] The gemstones are made from silicon carbide crystals, supplied under an exclusive agreement from Cree Inc. since 2014.
In June 2019 the company netted $10 million from a secondary public offering.[9]
In March 2020, the company was notified that they were at risk of being delisted on NASDAQ, as their share price had been consistently below $1.[10]
Don O'Connell was announced CEO in May 2020, taking over after Suzanne T. Miglucci's resignation. The announcement came days after reporting their quarterly earnings, which included a $5.3 million writeoff. O'Connell's base salary is $335,000, and Miglucci's was $278,000.[11][12]
As part of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company received a $965,000 federally backed small business loan from Newtek Small Business Finance as part of the Paycheck Protection Program. WCNC highlighted the company, and publicly traded companies that received loans before privately held small businesses did. WCNC also noted some publicly traded companies had returned their loan amidst scrutiny.[13][14][15][16] The company had furloughed about half of their employees on April 13, 2020.[17][18] The company also has had a $5 million line of credit since 2018, which remains available.[18]
Subsidiary companies and brands include 'Classic Moissanite', 'Forever Brilliant', 'Survivor Collection', 'Hearts & Arrows', 'Moissanite.com' and 'Lulu Avenue'.[19]
In March 2026, Charles & Colvard filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after reporting staggering losses since 2023, primarily due to increased competition from jewelry retailers.[20]
References
- Charles & Colvard Q4 2015 Sales +16% IDEX Online, IDEX, retrieved 14 March 2016^
- Tenth Amendment to Agreement SEC.gov, Securities & Exchange Commission, retrieved 9 January 2016^
- Teachers' Retirement System v. Hunter Stanford University (Securities), Stanford, retrieved 9 January 2016^
- Charles & Colvard confronts Morion JCKonline, JCK, retrieved 9 January 2016^
- A Special Thanks (Company History) Greater Charlotte Biz, retrieved 9 January 2016^
- https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1015155/000114036119016211/form10k.htm sec.gov, retrieved 2 July 2020^
- Michael O'Donoghue. Gems: Their Sources, Descriptions and Identification Butterworth-Heinemann, 2006^
- Silicon Carbide Gemstones Google^
- https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1015155/000114036120002505/form10q.htm sec.gov, retrieved 2 July 2020^
- tm2013819d1_8k sec.gov, retrieved 2 July 2020^
- CTHR Key Statistics Marketwatch, retrieved 5 May 2016^
- Charles & Colvard Appoints Don O'Connell as President and Chief Executive Officer MarketWatch, 29 May 2020, retrieved 2 July 2020^
- While small businesses waited, publicly-traded NC companies collected PPP loans wcnc.com, 6 March 2020, retrieved 2 July 2020^
- 8-K 1 tm2022975-1_8k.htm FORM 8-K sec.gov, retrieved 2 July 2020^
- tm2021320d1_8k sec.gov, retrieved 2 July 2020^
- tm2021320d1_ex10 sec.gov, retrieved 2 July 2020^
- https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1015155/000114036120012221/form10q.htm sec.gov, retrieved 2 July 2020^
- https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1015155/000092963820000339/a76600_sc13g.htm sec.gov, retrieved 2 July 2020^
- FORM 10-K For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2014 Charles & Colvard Ltd., 2014-12-31, retrieved 9 January 2016^
- Michelle Graff. Charles & Colvard Files for Bankruptcy, Citing Price Pressures National Jeweler, 2026-03-06, retrieved 2026-03-06^