Menē Inc. (pronounced "men-NEY") is a direct-to-consumer website retailer based in the United States. It manufactures gold and platinum jewelry from metals mined in the U.S. and Canada. The company was founded in 2017 by entrepreneur Roy Sebag and French art historian and curator Diana Widmaier Picasso. History The name "Menē" is an Aramaic word for money which dates back to an era when gold was the primary medium of exchange for goods and services. The company Menē was founded in 2017 by Israeli-Canadian investor and entrepreneur Roy Sebag and French art historian and curator Diana Widmaier Picasso. In an interview, Sebag described his travels through Asia, stating that India and other countries in the West dealt with gold, bullion, and saving with gold much differently from those in the East. He observed that in the East, the custom was for bullion to be purchased in the form of jewelry (i.e. trinkets, rings, necklaces, and other forms), whereas in the West, if gold was purchased for investment or savings purposes at all, it was done only in the form of coin or bars. The jewelry exchanges Sebag witnessed in the East were done primarily as purchases of wearable investment-grade jewelry that were sold by weight, typically using the metric unit of the gram as the base weight of measurement. Menē was founded with the premise of bringing the Asian customs of buying jewelry as an investment to North America and the Western world, hence calling the product "investment jewelry". Inez and Vinoodh collaboration In 2019, Menē began collaborating with designers Inez and Vinoodh. It was the first time the company collaborated with Inez and Vinoodh or any other designer outside of Diana Widmaier Picasso, its lead designer. In February 2019, Inez and Vinoodh hosted their debut collaboration comprising a limited-edition collection of rings, charms and medallions for Menē. The invitation-only event was hosted in their loft in Nolita, and co-hosted by Diana Widmaier Picasso. Notable guests included Courtney Love, Anja Rubik, Margaret Qualley, Dustin Yellin, Andreea Diaconu, Doutzen Kroes, Constance Jablonski, and Menē founder Roy Sebag. Picasso explained that "gold has been a source of inspiration throughout history", and that she wanted Menē creations to be "timeless and inspired by art history" but not necessarily something that follows fashion. See also Gold as an investment Platinum as an investment References Jewellery retailers of Canada Canadian companies established in 2017 Retail