Trelawear to Expand Life Safety Pendants Direct-to-Consumer
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Mara Perlmutter, founder and chief executive officer of Trelawear, a four-year-old business-to-business personal emergency system accessory, will start selling to consumers directly at trelawear.com, beginning in May.
Trelawear is a fashionable pendant for women to wear that functions as a personal emergency device. It’s a more stylish alternative to what’s previously been in the market.
With a push of a button, people can get access to help 24/7, 365 days a year. An emergency operator will contact the wearer through the base station or mobile device to determine how best to help. If required, emergency personnel will be dispatched to the location based on GPS technology, and family members will be notified.
The Trelawear pendant, whose stones are made of faceted hand-cut resin, come in four colors: black, lapis blue, turquoise blue and white mother-of-pearl. There is a cushion-shaped pendant and a round-shaped pendant. All cases are made of 100 percent brass and are in two metal finishes: gold micron plating or faux rhodium plating. Pendants are featured on a 30-inch brass cable chain with an exclusive magnetic closure.
The pendant is paired wirelessly with the MobileHelp equipment, allowing it to work out of one’s home. If a wearer presses the button accidentally, and initiates an emergency call, the operator who answers will access the situation. If there’s no emergency, the operator won’t send an emergency response to the location.
“It was really a personal mission,” said Perlmutter. “My mom, who is beautiful and fashionable, unfortunately found herself housebound, and my dad said to me, “Mara, she really needs to wear one of those emergency alert pendants, because if I go out, I really need to know that she’s OK. ”
Her mother didn’t like any of the ones she was shown, though, because they were all generic looking. “She said, ‘Mara, you’ve been in the jewelry business 25 years. Can’t you make me something beautiful to wear in case of an emergency?'”
She went to the Consumer Electronics Show and found there was actually nothing for women that was attractive. A year later, she hired some former jewelry designers she used to work with and reached out to suppliers. She was introduced to a large tech provider, Instant Care, in San Diego. “We’re the first company that’s ever come up with a metal device that actually functions as a personal alert system.”
The pendant retails for $148, but she is offering a price for new customers of $98. There will be a monthly fee that the user has to sign up for through MobileHelp. The service plans start at $29.99 (for inside use only) and goes up to $41.95 a month.
She said the average age of people wearing these emergency alert pendants is 80, “but this devise is really meant for a younger demographic.” She said the busiest days for these items are always the day after a family holiday when people assess how their aging parents are doing.
“We have developed a concept that makes our pendant work great both inside and outside the home,” she said. Until now, she has been selling these emergency alert monitoring providers to companies such as Medical Guardian, MobileHelp and Connect America.
“This is a breakthrough in terms of providing something that is beautiful, is discreet, the button is on the back and no one would actually know you are wearing it, and it’s something that actually functions well,” said Perlmutter, who until recently was also president of fashion brands at Uncas International, a jewelry and accessory firm.
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