Imagine a TV costume designer on the hunt for rare 1970s German military sneakers, or a jewelry designer seeking out unique Art-Deco treasures. Picture a vintage enthusiast meticulously comparing prices on coveted archival Marc Jacobs bags. For these individuals, shopping isn’t just a hobby—it’s a serious pursuit, a passion, or even their career.
What do they all have in common? They’re all using the ingenious app called Gem. This platform empowers shoppers to effortlessly search through over 700 vintage sellers and major resale sites like eBay, Etsy, The RealReal, Depop, Vestiaire Collective, and Poshmark. Whether you’re after a specific item, like a classic Fendi Baguette bag, or a broader category, like a vintage rugby shirt, Gem presents all your results on a single, scrollable page, complete with photos and prices.
Kylie Nakao, the 38-year-old designer behind Tarin Thomas jewelry, used to juggle ‘literally 20 browser windows’ to monitor various online platforms. Now, she relies on Gem to source vintage items for her brand’s store in Manhattan’s West Village, calling it ‘a total game changer.’
Charlotte Svenson, a wardrobe developer for the TV drama ‘Tell Me Lies,’ highlights Gem’s utility when facing tight deadlines. ‘Time is of the essence in our industry,’ the 34-year-old explained.
Gem also simplifies price comparison for specific items. Rebecca Zeidenberg, a vintage designer clothing collector, used the app to compare prices for a 2007 mink-and-python Marc Jacobs Stam bag after finding one on The RealReal for $180.
Ms. Zeidenberg, a 31-year-old digital asset manager from Toronto, noted the significant price differences: ‘One on eBay was listed for $1,500 at the time, while another on Vestiaire was $500.’
With approximately 150 million product listings, Gem recently introduced a powerful search-by-image feature in September. This marks a significant technological advancement for the platform, which has intentionally maintained a straightforward design and functionality since its launch six years ago.
Liisa Jokinen, 50, who co-founded Gem with her husband, Sampo Karjalainen, 48, emphasizes their philosophy: ‘The app has one core function, and we want to concentrate on that and make it as good as possible. It doesn’t need bells and whistles.’
A seasoned vintage shopper herself, Ms. Jokinen conceived Gem out of personal frustration with constantly checking multiple online sources for secondhand finds. (The app’s name perfectly captures the idea of unearthing hidden ‘gems’.) She and her husband, an engineer, dedicated a year to developing the app before its debut in 2019.
Before Gem, Ms. Jokinen had already established herself as a notable street-style photographer, first in her native Helsinki, Finland, and later in New York, where she and Mr. Karjalainen currently reside.
Gem operates with a small, dedicated team of three full-time employees: Ms. Jokinen, Mr. Karjalainen, and a developer. The platform generates revenue through affiliate programs, receiving a portion of sales made through its app and website.
Ms. Jokinen has strategically used her network of fashion editors and stylists to spread awareness of Gem, emphasizing that they primarily rely on ‘word of mouth’ to grow their user base.
Notably, fashion writer Liana Satenstein, a former contributor to The New York Times, successfully used Gem to locate a distinctive pair of bright orange Maharishi pants. These were the exact pants Jennifer Aniston was photographed wearing more than two decades ago, and Satenstein subsequently purchased them and shared her find in her newsletter, Neverworns.
Kelly Williams, 36, author of the fashion newsletter Midimalist, is a regular Gem user. She credits the app for her preference for online secondhand shopping, as it significantly reduces the time she would otherwise spend sifting through Denver’s vintage stores, which she notes are often ‘flooded with low-quality items via fast fashion.’
Despite her frequent use, Gem user Kelly Williams has a suggestion for improvement: while search results can be filtered by price, size, gender, and location, she points out ‘the lack of a color filter’ as a minor annoyance.