São Paulo – The designer of sumptuous jewelry, produced with gold, tourmaline, coral, diamond, pearls and other beautiful stones, Ana Marcia de Albuquerque, a Brazilian born in the state of Minas Gerais, became a household name among the consumers of high-end jewelry in the Arab countries. With her brand Goldesign, Ana Marcia exports to the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Lebanon, in the Middle East, and was invited to be the curator of the last edition of the Jewellery & Watch Show (JWS), a trade expo of the industry that took place in Abu Dhabi in October.
The history of Goldesign and its founder with the Arabs began 14 years ago, when the company took part, for the first time, alongside other Brazilian brands, of Jewellery Arabia, in Manama, Bahrain. The group participation never took place again, but Ana Marcia returned to the country every year since then with her pieces. She also began to exhibit at the UAE of the JWA, year after year, and, more recently, in the show Doha Jewellery & Watches Exhibition (DJWE), in Doha, Qatar.
At the time, Ana Marcia saw in the features of her pieces – handmade, unique, with a powerful and distinctive design – the possibility of opening doors in a very demanding Arab market. “I chose to continue because they are visionaries, the Arab has no limit, and my creation is also a limitless creation,” said the designer in an interview to ANBA about making dreams and innovations come true by both the Arab countries and herself, via the design of her jewelry.
“It wasn’t easy. It’s a competitive market. It’s a market with the best in the world, in all aspects. They have the best, so, really, in order to enter the Arab market you need a good plan. You need to be very good, one hundred percent perfect and true,” said the businesswoman. Personally, Ana Marcia identifies herself with the Arabs. “Every year that I visit I fall deeper in love, I love them, love my clients, love their demeanor,” she says.
The entrepreneur socializes with her clients in the Arab countries a lot and, thus, have now a very close relationship with them. With her high-end jewelry, Goldesign even have members of the ruling families as clients in the region. The pieces draw attention for their use of gold, particularly white gold, but also for being colorful, with a mix of many stones in a same piece. Butterflies and flowers are recurring elements in Ana Marcia’s designs.
One of the highlights of the recognition of Goldesign in the region was the invitation received by Ana Marcia to be the curator of JWS. The businesswoman was responsible for designing the 15,000 square meter facilities of the trade expo, and she introduced many innovations, such as experience rooms sorted by countries, such as India, Brazil and Italy. They presented to visitors the best of each country. A group of 15 Brazilian companies was selected and took part in the show.
“We added value to the jewelry,” she said about her work of providing a lifestyle to the expo. The designer, a major in architecture, designed pleasant rest areas, invited fashionable brands to provide services and invited to help in this JWS job the Brazilian architect Leonardo Rotsen and Brazilian designer Margaret Marinho, the latter on visual programing.
The Brazilian designer will also take part in the curatorship of JWS’ next edition and says that she will seek the support of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce to organize the Brazilian participation. The businesswoman visited the headquarters of the Arab Chamber last Thursday (29), in São Paulo, and also wants to partner up with the organization in her expansion plans for the Arab market.
Since Goldesign became well-known in the Arab countries in the Gulf, Ana Marcia plans to offer in that market other types of products besides jewelry, using the concept of her brand. She already began this work with some sectors, such as perfumery and sweets, but the full package should include clothing, sweets, jewelry, perfumery and home appliances. The plan is for Goldesign to continue to produce the jewelry, with third-party manufacturers taking care of the other items, but working under her brand.
The idea of offering sweets and perfumes has a correlation with the Arabs. In Goldesign’s participations in trade shows in the Middle East, people would ask about the fragrance used in Goldesign’s stands, produced especially for the event and, thus, Ana Marcia ended up deciding to go into the perfumery sector. The sweets came up as gifts for the Arab sheikhs, also during the participation in trade shows, and the experience also raised the possibility of selling them in the market. They are organic fruit preserves, such as figs and guavas, caramelized condensed milk, among others.
The businesswoman has plans of working with these products, under the Goldesign concept, in the Arab market and is seeking a commercial partner in the region. The goal is to open a store to sell these items. The brand is in the markets of the United States, France, Malta, Russia, Ukraine and Colombia. Goldesign doesn’t have brick-and-mortar stores. Both in Brazil and abroad, sales are done by exclusive dealerships or by the company directly to the clients. Ana Marcia runs the company alongside her husband and partner Marcelo Albuquerque.
Contact:
Goldesign Jewelry
Website: www.goldesignjoias.com.br
Phone: 55 31 3271-2636
Email: international@goldesignjoias.com.br
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
