![Brazilian Star](http://media.assettype.com/diamondworld-production%2Fimport%2Fnews_img%2F15128_12092.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
Overview
Brazil, officially the
Federative Republic
of Brazil, is the largest
country in both South America
and Latin America. As the
world’s fifth-largest country
by both area and population,
it is the largest country to
have Portuguese as an official
language and the only one in the
Americas.
Brazil’s economy is the world’s
ninth-largest by nominal GDP
and seventh-largest by GDP
(PPP) as of 2015. A member
of the BRICS group, Brazil
until 2010 had one of the
world’s fastest growing major
economies, with its economic
reforms giving the country new
international recognition and
influence.
Gems & Jewellery Industry
Brazil is reportedly the
world’s 11th largest gold
producer and the 13th largest
consumer of gold. It has also
long been associated with
exotic gemstones such as
paraiba tourmaline, amethyst,
alexandrite, aquamarine and
ametrine, and is now one of the
top three gemstone producers
in the world with rough exports
totaling US$57 million in 2014
while cut and polished exports
hit US$131 million.
In 2014, exports of gemstones,
jewellery and precious metals from Brazil reached close to
$3 billion. Notably, according
to GFMS, in 2013, Brazil stood
in second place worldwide
as a producer of gold-plated
jewellery, overtaking Korea and
just behind China. Its exports
of gold-plated jewellery equal
about 10 per cent of the world
demand. It is estimated that the
industry in Brazil, encompassing
both the manufacturing and
retail sectors, comprises
approximately 22,000
companies, generating close to
40,000 jobs, mentions CIBJO
Congress 2015 report.
Gaetano Cavalieri, CIBJO
President in the CIBJO Congress
2015 mentioned about rising
importance of Latin America
as jewellery manufacturer. He
mentioned “Despite the fact
that jewellery and the jewellery
crafts have a been a fixture in
the region for literally millennia,
the fact that a major industry
gathering is being hosted here
is indicative of Latin America’s
increasing importance as a
jewellery manufacturer and
consumer market.”
Brazilian Jewellery
Brazilian jewellery is diverse
in its design and style. Though
diverse the designs are bold and
convey happiness, cheerfulness
of the people of the soil. The
multicultural influences which
the Brazilian people have
open mindedly accepted and
carried forward gets reflected
in the jewellery designs here.
Therefore the Brazilian jewellery
designs are not only fresh but
also quite modern and bold.
Leading Jewellery Brands
H. Stern
Founded in 1945 by Stern
Family, this Brazilian jewellery
brand is not only famous in
Brazil, but also abroad. H. Stern
has around 280 stores and
can be found in 32 countries.
It is known for lending its
jewels to celebrities who use
them for occasions, like award
ceremonies and social events,
a strategy that helps promote
the brand to foreigners. The
company’s headquarters is in
Rio de Janeiro and has more
than 3,000 employees, including
300 artisans.
Stern family still owns the
company.
Vivara
Vivara, one of the largest
Brazilian players in the jewellery
market, started its business
in a tiny store in São Paulo in
1962. Today, besides having
an e-commerce operation, the
brand has more than 150 stores
throughout the country. The
jewels that were handmade back
in 1962 are currently produced
in a 2000 sq mtrs factory,
located in São Paulo.
Competitive Landscape
The top brands in the category
remain Vivara and H Stern.
Both are fine jewellery brands
that have been in the market
for many years, are well known
and have a strong presence
in retail. The next two largest
brands are costume jewellery
brands Morana and Accessorise.
Between Morana and Baloné,
Morana’s parent company
Grupo Ornatus, has 505 stores
across the country.
Prospects
Costume jewellery sales of items
made of cheap metals, such
as nickel, will suffer greatly in
2016-2021 as recent legislation
has made it illegal to import
or produce products made of
these materials. Fine jewellery
brands will continue, at least in
the near future, to create and
promote inexpensive collections
to capture middle-income
consumers.
Gemstones
Brazil produces the greatest
variety of gems and semiprecious
stones in the world,
including diamonds, emeralds and
amethyst. Mining is very much
a part of the Brazilian culture
and prospecting is a way of life
for many people. If a mineral
deposit is found in an area where
no exploration license has been
granted then prospectors, called
garimpeiros, can mine the area
using manual tools to extract
the minerals. Of course many of
the mines in Brazil are modern
operations, owned by mining
companies, similar to Canada.
Some of the most spectacular
gems come from the region
near the city of Belo Horizonte,
in the state of Minas Gerais.
This area produces emerald,
aquamarine, rubellite (pink
tourmaline), green tourmaline,
imperial topaz, alexandrite and
amazonite.
Brazil became the breadbasket for affordable emerald in the early 1960s. Brazilian Emerald stone was first discovered in Brazil around 1920. Brazil has upgraded its image as an emerald mining center. The finding has made since 1980 at Itabera in Minais Gerais, Santa Teresinha in Goias, and Nova Era near Itabera are supplying the best emerald Brazil has ever produced. Indeed, top stones from these mines beg comparison to Colombian emerald. Itaitinga mine located near Hematita, 16 km northeast of Belmont. This alluvial deposit produces an average of five kilograms per day, which yields about 250 carats per month of faceted alexandrite. Some exceptional v-shaped twins up to 22 cm in length were recently recovered from Itaitinga mine.
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