Toronto--Persona jewelry distributor First Jewelry Ltd. has purchased Florida-based collegiate bead and jewelry company Teagan Co. and will add collegiate beads and charms to Persona’s offerings.

Teagan Co. was established in 2007 by Winter Park, Fla. residents Katie and Ernie Hinderliter, who created licensed college-themed beads made of sterling silver and enamel. The beads are carried in more than 300 retail stores in the U.S. and Canada.

As First Jewelry is the exclusive distributor of bead and charm brand Persona, the company now will transition Teagan Co. into the Persona family, rebranding it as “Teagan by Persona.”

In addition, First Jewelry will launch a new “Campus Life” collection under the Persona brand, which also will offer sterling silver collegiate beads and charms as well as sorority-themed styles, launching in stores including Zales, Gordon’s and independents this month.

The announcement comes as millions of students countrywide head back to college after summer break and the collegiate football season sets to kick off in two weeks.

“With 190 million college sports fans, 89 million of them women and 31 million with incomes over $100,000, we wanted to be in the collegiate market,” First Jewelry CEO Neil Travis said. “In our research we felt that Teagan Co. represented the best quality and most unique look to complement some new Persona collegiate designs.