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]