The family behind GEMORO, a trusted name in jewelry store equipment and supplies for over 57 years, created Digital Bodyguard out of a deep concern for the safety of jewelers and pawn professionals.
Our inspiration came from the JHJ Jewelers Crime Alert Network Facebook group, where store owners nationwide share warnings about distraction thieves, payment fraud, counterfeit or stolen goods sellers, and organized groups casing stores for smash-and-grab attacks.
Traditional security systems only notify you after a break-in has occurred. We wanted to do more. By combining decades of industry knowledge with cutting-edge technology, we partnered with leading tech companies to build a proactive defense system—the Digital Bodyguard.
At its core is a proprietary database of over 180 million criminal records, aggregated from counties, cities, states, and international sources. Even more powerful is our shared member-driven feature: jewelers and pawnshops can add faces of suspicious individuals into a collective database, creating an ever-growing digital “watchout list” to stop bad actors before they strike.
But crime in today’s world goes beyond fraud and theft. With rising gun violence in the U.S., growing socioeconomic tensions, religious and political conflicts, and a generation of youth increasingly exposed to aggression and retaliation, the risks facing retail businesses are greater than ever. Working in a jewelry store should be just as safe as working in a bookstore—and that’s where our AI Weapon Detection technology comes in.
When a bad actor enters, wielding a weapon, our system identifies it in a fraction of a second and instantly alerts your command center for human validation, and is automatically cross-referenced with a Safe List. The command center is automatically triggered to observe and if aggressive behavior occurs, the command center notifies local law enforcement directly—so help is on the way without depending on you to make the call. This feature gives owners, staff, and families peace of mind, knowing that threats are detected and addressed before tragedy can unfold.
We know firsthand how devastating these incidents can be. With many next-generation family members now stepping into leadership of their parents’ jewelry and pawn stores, the need for stronger, smarter protection has never been greater. Even the most seasoned store owners can’t be on the sales floor every second of the day. Digital Bodyguard bridges that gap—essentially offering automated background checks, AI weapon detection, and real-time alerts for every known bad actor identified while entering your store.
It’s the future of security—built by jewelers, for jewelers. And it’s here to protect not only your business, but the next generation, continuing your legacy.
