.gem
Is .gem a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.gem is contested: 2 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list, as of 7 October 2026. They are Juming and Google Registry. XYZ Registry named .gem as a backup string for its .crm application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. ShortDot named .gem as a backup string for its .zen application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
A niche TLD for jewelry and gemstone retailers, collectibles and curation brands playing on "gem", plus developers riffing on Ruby gems and buyers of short vanity names.
jewelry and gemstone retailers, collectibles and curation brands playing on "gem", plus developers riffing on Ruby gems and buyers of short vanity names
One of the 80 strings ShortDot published for the ICANN 2026 round. ShortDot states it has submitted 40 applications, but publishes the 80 strings without revealing which 40 are applications and which 40 are designated replacements. The submission claim is therefore applicant-level, not string-level: nothing in the source says ShortDot applied for THIS string. Catalogued, not announced.
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .crm application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup
The 2012 applications making the most similar bet. Chosen by AI from every string in that round, without being told what happened to any of them.
Same bet: an unowned, open generic noun for a precious-stone category that jewelers, dealers and retailers can put their primary identity on, with the string's own connotation of value doing the marketing work.
Same bet in the plainest form — the trade's own category noun sold to the same jeweler/retailer buyer, differing only in that it names the industry while the target names the object.
Same bet of a short, precious-material noun that lives a double life as a literal trade word and a generic superlative for quality, so its registrants split between the actual industry and anyone wanting the halo — but it is a commodity/finance word too, widening the buyer set beyond the target's.
What a .gem domain is
.gem is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our Commerce category. 2 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list.
Is the .gem domain extension real yet?
.gem is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. It is a string applicants have put forward in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, the process that decides whether it becomes one.
When can you buy a .gem domain?
You can’t yet. A .gem name can only be registered once the string is delegated (added to the DNS root) and its registry opens. Last round's closest parallel to .gem was .diamonds, delegated on 19 November 2013.
Is .gem a real TLD?
Not yet. .gem is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because .gem is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list of applied-for strings. Every entry on this page links to its source.
“CRRI2564-T26476 · Charleston Road Registry Inc. · primary · contention set 2026-94 NA2626T-T98888 · ShortDot (Ireland) Limited · replacement string of .zen · Deactivated TL2645T-T29492 · TechEdge Limited · primary · contention set 2026-94 XL2625T-T20823 · XYZ.COM LLC · replacement string of .crm · Deactivated”ICANN
“CRRI2564-T26476 · Charleston Road Registry Inc. · primary · contention set 2026-94 TL2645T-T29492 · TechEdge Limited · primary · contention set 2026-94”ICANN
“ShortDot (Ireland) Limited has submitted 40 applications to ICANN's 2026 New gTLD Program. The 80 strings shown include applied-for and designated replacement strings across ShortDot's 40 ICANN applications, presented without revealing their status or pairing.”ShortDot (Ireland) Limited
- Band chosen: 30-49 (usable but limited). The string is a short, legible dictionary word with two real end-uses: jewelry/gemstone commerce and the metaphorical 'gem' (hidden gem, a gem of an app), with a minor developer resonance from the Ruby gems packaging ecosystem. By analogy (flagged), the closest existing category TLDs — .jewelry and .diamonds — have remained low-registration niche extensions with thin aftermarkets, and vanity-suffix strings tend to see price-driven rather than identity-driven registration; registration figures for those are unknown to me and not asserted here. It is not in the 50-69 band because no sustained primary-identity demand is evident and a serious jeweler or app would still default to .com or a broader TLD; it is not in the 10-29 band because the word is short, positive, and commercially legible enough that some real businesses would use it as a primary identity rather than a joke. The recorded operator profile (a volume registry behind .icu, .cyou, .bond, .cfd, .sbs) suggests adoption is likelier to come via low-priced volume than premium brand positioning, which informs adoption shape but not the score. Main market uncertainty: whether the metaphorical 'gem' (brandable suffix, curation apps, creator projects) draws meaningful organic registrations beyond the small jewelry vertical, or whether volume ends up dominated by promotional-price registrations with little end-use.