VC-Backed Fine Jewelry Brand Cast Launches First Brick-and-Mortar Location in the Bay Area’s The Village in Marin County

Cast launched in 2021 with the bold mission to make shopping for fine jewelry as joyful as wearing it. The San Francisco-based brand is marking its one-year anniversary with the grand opening of its first brick-and-mortar location. The store concept is designed to evoke that magical “kid in a candy store” feeling which translates more literally to a wonderland of everchanging fine jewelry collections to explore, touch, and try-on. The overall store aesthetic is chic meets whimsical; it’s a destination meant to surprise and delight for the ultimate treasure hunt.

“I can’t remember a time when I walked into a fine jewelry store without feeling intimidated and out of place.” shares Cast Co-Founder Rachel Skelly. “That’s why we created Cast. We’re here to inspire curiosity and discovery, with exclusive collections created in collaboration with some of our favorite designers and artists.”

The Cast boutique will open at The Village at Corte Madera in Marin County, CA in October 2022. This is the first of several planned boutiques, with an ultimate vision of over 100 boutiques in North America alone.

Rachel Skelly, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer and Eric Ryan, co-founder and CEO, have reimagined the traditional jewelry shopping space and created a multisensory experience. Successful entrepreneurs, they have repeatedly brought optimism and joy to stuffy and dusty categories including cleaning, health and nutrition with the introduction of method, OLLY, Welly and Plum Organics. There’s no team better suited to tackling the dated coldness of established jewelry retail. And no better location than beloved San Francisco where beautiful art and design meet innovation.

“We set out to change the experience of shopping for fine jewelry by shifting the experience to focus on the person wearing the jewelry.” notes Ryan.

Upon entering the 500 sq ft. boutique, guests will experience a world of wonder to explore that uniquely celebrates the exclusive and ever-evolving collection of Cast’s fine jewelry designs. There’s always something new to discover. The chic boutique engages all senses, where guests are welcomed with a beverage and product menu revealing detail and pricing about every piece without any need to guess. A signature Cast scent created by female-founded, 12.29 hovers in the air. Custom vignette displays and the capsule centerpiece inspire curiosity and invite interaction. Designed by Grow, an independent women-owned and run agency based in San Francisco, the space radiates a wonder-filled joyful experience for both experienced jewelry lovers as well as novices who are just graduating from costume and vermeil into fine. Cast is created for those who are looking for heirloom-quality designs and craftsmanship to treasure for years to come.

Cast is a place to discover unexpected wonder-filled fine jewelry. Founded in San Francisco and launched in 2021, Cast was created by two friends who wanted to make the experience of shopping for fine jewelry as joyful as wearing it. With Co-Founder Rachel Skelly at the design helm as Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder and CEO Eric Ryan guiding the path forward, Cast brings to life a new vision for fine jewelry. The Cast story includes many voices–from the exclusive Cast-made collaborations they create to the select guest artists and distinctive pieces they showcase. Skelly and Ryan are on a mission to turn the jewelry curious into jewelry lovers and collectors with an experience that inspires wonder. Welcome to Cast. Let your treasure hunt begin.

Grow is an independent women-owned and run agency based in San Francisco who has created award-winning experiences for F500 brands around the globe. Known for our design aesthetic, brands have turned to us when they want to create standout moments rooted in elevated and distinctive design, from Barbie’s Malibu Dreamhouse on Airbnb to the launch of Google Home to consumers via a tiny neighborhood. Grow’s leaders come from the client side of retail and know first-hand the importance of a differentiated retail experience and the power of a compelling space to move hearts and minds. We’re thrilled to partner with long-time friend and fellow Bay Area entrepreneurs, Eric Ryan and Rachel Skelly, to tackle the challenge of reimagining the jewelry retail experience.

Modern brand storytelling is not complete without emotional engagement which is a natural and acute byproduct of a scented experience. At 12.29, we engage the visceral language of scent to define, shape, and communicate brand identity. Symbolic and visceral, smell is a powerful brand language that communicates identity and differentiation. The scent creates an emotional space around a brand’s audience, building and nurturing a brand community around shared feelings and powerful bonds. 12.29 global capabilities provide an end-to-end service delivery model for client locations around the world while ensuring consistency and reliability.