DALLAS, Sept. 27, 1999 (PRIMEZONE) -- Dallas Gold & Silver Exchange, Inc. (Nasdaq:DGSE) today announced the launch of www.FirstJewelryAuctions.com, the first integrated Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer auction site for the jewelry industry. The site is currently supported by 50 manufacturers and offers over 1,000 jewelry and watch products. By the end of the year, it is expected that the continuous auction will cover an assortment of 5,000 products, making it one of the largest and most unique jewelry marketplaces on the Internet.
Powered by the Company's proprietary Virtual Auctioneer software, the site puts individual consumers on equal footing with institutional buyers and creates a truly efficient forum for all industry participants. The special design of the site includes a Trading Floor with exchange model auction features. On the virtual Trading Floor, the consumer can enter a bid for any item without expiration and the seller can only lower his offer for the particular item.
William H. Oyster, President of Dallas Gold & Silver Exchange, commented, "The First Jewelry Auctions is a culmination of our research efforts and years of experience in Internet auctions. We have completed over 5,000 successful auctions as a Charter Member of Amazon Auctions (Nasdaq:AMZN) and will continue to conduct over 200 auctions per week. We also continue to operate our original e-commerce jewelry venue at www.dgse.com, one of the oldest auctions on the Web. All these Internet activities currently account for over 12% of the Company's trailing 6 months overall revenue and are expected to grow rapidly."
Mr. Oyster concluded, "Based on our prior success of growing our Internet presence, we expect this new milestone launch to have a significant impact on our financial results, especially in the upcoming Holiday season."
Dallas Gold & Silver Exchange, Inc. is a wholesaler and retailer of jewelry, diamonds, fine watches and precious metals to domestic and international customers through its Superstore in Dallas, Texas and through its live real-time auctions on the Internet (www.dgse.com & www.FirstJewelryAuctions.com). The Company also provides real-time quotations on over 250 precious metals products at its www.usbullionexchange.com site.
Statements about the Company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, and all other statements in the press release other than historical facts are ``forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Since these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results.