Ali Pastorini is the co-owner of Del Lima Jewelry and President of Mubri, an association that brings together more than 2,000 women and men working in the gold and diamond trading sector, mainly from Latin America, as well as from Turkey, Spain, Italy, and Germany. The mission of Mubri is to help its members in the jewelry and watchmaking sectors consolidate their business in order to exchange professional skills and experience.
In the immediate past, Ali Pastorini was also Senior Vice President of the World Jewelry Hub in Panama. In this interview with Rough&Polished she talks about talks about investing in precious stones and the situation in the diamond industry.
Is it possible to invest in precious stones? What are the disadvantages of investing in precious stones?
It is possible and it is still a good investment, but like any investment you need to know where and how to invest in order not to fall into traps and false profits. It is important to be aware that precious stones are less risky due to their low volatility, which also means that the profits are not as high when compared to other types of investments such as the Stock Exchange.
My recommendation would be to invest in precious stones but vary and not just stay in this type of investment.
Jewelry with which stones are most popular in Brazil?
Are quite popular but it is worth remembering that the more traditional gems such as emerald, sapphire and rubies.
Interestingly, despite Brazil being one of the main countries producing and exporting colored gemstones, the Brazilian consumer tends to buy jewelry with diamonds or with the traditional gems mentioned above.
In the recent trade fairs that Mubri members, one of the largest jewelry associations in the world, participated in, many of the exhibitors noticed that Brazilian visitors sought to buy more classic pieces, medium sizes and with traditional stones.
Perhaps also due to the current economic situation in the world, still with some uncertainties, the consumer is looking for more certain things than risking something new to guarantee his profit, even if it is little. I see consumers from regions like Saudi Arabia looking for more stones of different colors or styles that are not often found on the market.
Who is the main consumer of diamond jewelry today?
From the recent experiences I've been having, either with my brand, as a consultant for some countries or even observing our Mubri members, I see that the best consumers of diamond jewelry today are in the Middle East, in addition to Turkey (surprisingly), Russia and India which has considerably increased its consumption in some regions of the country.
Is it possible to verify the authenticity of diamond jewelry without the help of a specialist?
No, the technology for this has advanced considerably to help detect it, but you will always need the help of an expert. The chances of being able to detect it without the help of an expert increases the possibilities of making mistakes and purchasing a product of inferior quality.
Understand the importance of an expert and value their work. They help you to always have products of the correct origin, with quality, and who will also benefit from this decision will be your consumers.
How do you assess the state of supply and demand in the diamond market?
I am very optimistic, although some articles are being skeptical. In my view that I am seeing and having in practice, business is taking place and quite frequently. We recently left the participation in a Fair in Dubai organized by GJEPC India and our buyers not only renewed their stocks inside the Fair but also sold something that was foreseen only for Christmas, which means that they are already placing new orders in the month of December which would normally be in the month of January.
It is no coincidence that some Fairs have already contacted me precisely to help with this, as it has been noticed that large-scale purchases are taking place, what needs to be connected is the right Fair with the right buyer.
This statement of mine may seem a little obvious and naive, but this dedication and patience in connecting the right people brings great business results and profits.
Please tell us about the events held by Mubri this year and plans for the upcoming year.
This year we ended with events in 24 countries, some of them simultaneously. Once again, we increased our membership and by 2022 manufacturers were the ones who became members with us the most.
In 2023, the partnerships of 2022 will be repeated, and we have two great innovations with regions recognized worldwide in the sector. One of them is already our partner, but we will evolve our agreement by increasing the number of actions together. The other partnership is new but will have a great impact on the sector. Soon we will announce.
The idea is to go from 24 events to 40 on 4 continents, serving manufacturers, retailers and independent artists in both classic and contemporary jewelry.
Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished
