Dive Brief:

• Jewelry brand Kendra Scott is expanding its assortment with the launch of its first-ever collection of watches, the company said in a press release Wednesday.
• The collection includes "signature timepieces" as well as "elevated watch bands," the latter of which are also compatible with Apple Watch products.
• The category expansion comes amid Kendra Scott's 20th anniversary. Prices for Kendra Scott's watches and watch bands range between $128 and $328.

Dive Insight:

As a jewelry retailer, watches is an "organic next category" to expand into, the company said on Wednesday. 

The collection takes design cues from Kendra Scott's jewelry lines, including using some of its "heritage shapes" like the Alex, Dira and Elle. The styles are available in various colors, and each watch face includes a unique stone or shell. The watches are being sold both online and in the brand's stand-alone stores.

Kendra Scott, the founder, designer and executive chairwoman of the brand, called the move "a natural next step in our product innovation." She stepped down as the CEO of her namesake brand in February last year after nearly 20 years at the helm, but the company said at the time she would remain heavily involved in design, customer experience and philanthropy operations.

"The watch is one of the world's most iconic accessories," Scott said on social media about the collection. "Designed to be the signature of your every outfit, each detail of this timepiece is ageless, polished, and distinctly Kendra Scott."

In another assortment expansion, the DTC jewelry brand last year introduced its first men's jewelry collection, which Scott designed in collaboration with her sons. That collection included bracelets in a variety of styles made of stones, leather cord, paracord and vinyl beads.

Other DTC jewelry brands are likewise seeking expansion through category extensions and store openings: Brilliant Earth went public in September last year with plans to expand its network of showrooms, and Aurate recently reopened the stores it had to shutter during the pandemic as part of a larger brick-and-mortar strategy.

While Kendra Scott has a large DTC footprint that includes over 100 stores, the brand also sells through around 600 specialty boutiques, as well as upscale department stores Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale's.