Now that all the speculation is over and we know that ICANN will be accepting New TLD applications from January next year, many more companies are stepping forward with their plans to launch their own TLD.

Just one day after the official approval was announced, a company called GJB Partners has announced that it plans to launch .Jewelers. The managing partner of the firm is said to be over the moon with the New TLD approval and can’t wait to get started.

“We are thrilled the ICANN Board of Directors has approved the Applicant Guidebook and Application Window and are eager to move forward.”

.Jewelers falls under the category of a “Specialised” TLD along with others such as .Radio, .Shop and .Sport. Other types of New TLDs include “Community” TLDs such as .Eco and .Gay, and “Geo” TLDs like .Africa and .Paris.

The company is well aware of the rigorous procedures that follow in order to obtain the rights to manage their TLD, but they are maintaining that they are prepared for the application process and don’t foresee any issues!

The idea of .Jewelers was first showcased at the Las Vegas based Continental Buying Group Show in June, and it is reported that demand for the TLD was high. The event was chosen for the cross section of retailers that attend, and the valuable feedback that they were able to provide. The Continental Buying Group is a huge jewellery buying organisation that has over 100 members who hold around 300 retail outlets between them.

The CBG have been extremely supportive of the New TLD and have expressed interest in marketing the .Jewelers TLD to their select group of “Preferred Jewellers”.

The registry reported on Twitter yesterday that they have had a flurry of phone calls and emails from people keen to claim their .Jewelers TLD now that they have announced their plans to the world in a press release.

Following the announcement however, there has been some debate amongst the domaining community as there is an obvious spelling difference between the UK spelling (Jewellers) and the US spelling (Jewelers). People are already complaining that this is alienating every UK based Jewellery Company, as no UK Jeweller would want a “misspelled” domain extension. You could therefore argue that it is not truly a Global Top Level Domain at all. Given that there is such a variation in spelling between the US and the UK markets many people are unsure if it will get off the ground as the TLD’s market is too niche.

One thing is for sure, we can stand by for lots more “keyword” type TLDs being made public over the coming months, and things are bound to get interesting!

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