Scott Kay has signed on to be the official designer for the “Preferred Jewelers of the World,” sightholder W.B. David’s attempt to fashion a network of upscale retailers.

Kay will design jewelry that will be sold by David’s “preferred” retailers. “It has to be a style that evokes what these people stand for,” Kay told JCK. Plans call for a maximum of 200 jewelers in the program this year, and an eventual maximum of 500.

Under the program, participating retailers will have the “preferred” designation touted in an ambitious advertising campaign underwritten by David in exchange for agreeing to buy a specified amount of jewelry from Kay and loose stones from David. The “Preferred Jewelers of the World” program runs in tandem with David’s even more upscale “Leading Jewelers of the World” program. Phoenix retailer Al Molina is the first retailer selected as a charter “Leading Jeweler.”