H. Stern is a luxury jewelry brand. The company was founded in Brazil in 1945 by German-Jewish immigrant Hans Stern, whose son, Roberto Stern, currently runs the company. H. Stern initially specialized in precious stones before moving to design focused jewelry. The family owned company does not disclose its sales but it has over 150 stores, located in Latin America, United States, Europe & Asia.
The company is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where it controls the handmade production of all its jewelry. The first H. Stern store opened on the Rio de Janeiro docks in 1949, the point of arrival for international passengers on cruise ships.
In the 1990s, under the direction of Hans’ eldest son Roberto Stern, currently the President and Creative Director of the company, H. Stern went through an extensive restructuring process. In the product development area, the company started to observe and interpret behavioral, style and fashion trends, and launched collections inspired by several celebrities such as musician Carlinhos Brown (1999), artist Anna Bella Geiger (2000), the stylist and cultural icon Diane von Fürstenberg (2004), architect Oscar Niemeyer and the Grupo Corpo dance company from the state of Minas in Brazil (2009). One of the latest is a collection of rings inspired by the Disney and Tim Burton film Alice in Wonderland.
Eva Longoria, Rihanna, Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, Sharon Stone and Catherine Zeta-Jones have all worn H. Stern's designsStern started his career in the gemstone industry when he began working at the Rio de Janeiro-based company, Cristab, which exports precious stones and minerals from Brazil. Stern traveled to Minas Gerais state as part of his job, where he came to know the local miners.[1] He also became familiarized with many of the precious stones that were mined in the area, including topazes, tourmalines and amethysts. He became fascinated by the vibrant gems of Brazil and decided to promote them internationally, targeting foreign travelers. In doing so, he gave birth to a new industry.
Stern founded his company, H. Stern, in 1945, in order to market Brazilian gemsThere was no real market for Brazilian gemstones at the time.His company would eventually grow into a multinational jewelry empire. Stern and his company trained a large number of young Brazilian jewelers as H. Stern gained customers and market credibility. His work propelled the Brazilian jeweler industry up to international standards. Stern was also the first to create a worldwide warranty certificate, and to offer tours of his workshops to present the creative and production process with integrity and transparency. One of his main goals in life was achieved when important international gemological institutes revised the old "semi-precious" definition of colored stones and began referring to them since as "precious colored stones". Stern coined the phrase, "There is no semi-precious stone as there is no semi-pregnant woman or semi-honest man".
Stern's company, H. Stern, grew into a retail chain of more than 160 stores throughout the world.[1] The first international boutiques appeared in Frankfurt, Lisbon and New York City in the 1970s. For many decades the company focused its creations on Hans' beloved colored gems, although Stern also won several Diamonds International Awards and other prizes for avant garde diamond designs.
Always a visionary, Stern led the business to another phase of international expansion by entering in the Basel Jewelry and Watch Fair in Basel, Switzerland, in 2003 for the first time.[1] From the jewelry and watch fair, he was able to establish a growing network of contacts and partnerships throughout Europe, the United States and the Middle East adding another 150 points of sale to the network, through retail partnerships with department stores and specialty retailers.
As of late 2007, there are now 160 stores which are family owned and operated in 13 countries, and 150 shop in shops in another 19 countries Hans' jewelry and gemstones have been featured in a number of international fashion magazines, such as Vogue, Marie Claire and Elle. His gems are often worn by celebrities. The H. Stern jewelry line is also now sold in upscale stores in cities as far away from Brazil as Frankfurt, New York City, Paris, Moscow, Mexico City, and Tel Aviv.
Stern's favorite gemstone was the tourmaline, a stone which is commonly found throughout Minas Gerais.
Death
Hans Stern died on October 26, 2007, in Rio de Janeiro at age 85 Stern had been hospitalized for days before his death.[1] He was survived by his wife, Ruth, whom he married in 1958.Together the couple had four sons - Roberto, Ricardo, Ronaldo and Rafael.
1939 Stern Presence in Brazil
Of the world's top four jewelry concerns, the Stern company is the only one with fully vertical operations — mining, cutting, manufacturing, designing, wholesaling, retailing and exporting. Still privately owned by Mr. Stern and his family, the company does not release any financial figures but estimates in the domestic jewelry trade here place its annual sales this year at about $25‐million.
The hectic pace of the thin ‐ mustachioed jeweler since he arrived in Brazil in 1939 with a penniless family from Nazi Germany has earned him some criticism from others in the trade.
Most of it involves aggressive—but by no means unethical — marketing techniques. Tourists checking into Brazilian hotels, for example, frequently find Stern sales literature has already arrived.
Personal contact with a customer is a company watchword.
Links
https://www.ehudlaniado.com/home/index.php/news/entry/the-man-behind-h-stern
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