2009-05-06 22:55:22 - Thirteen Master IJO Jewelers recently traveled to Brazil on a 10-day Gem Safari organized by the Independent Jewelers Organization (IJO). The jewelers’ itinerary included the cities of Ouro Preto, Itibira & Governador Valadares, all located in the mineral rich state of Mineas Gerais, as well as visits to Salvador and Rio de Janeiro.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Debbie Klar – IJO
May, 2009 800.624-9252


IJO TRAVELS ON GEM SAFARI TO BRAZIL


The purpose of the trip combined both business and pleasure and offered visits to a variety of different working gemstone mines including two emerald mines, aquamarine, morganite, tourmaline, imperial topaz and a kunzite mine. In addition,

the travelers also had the opportunity to visit one of the oldest gold mines in all of Brazil. “We organized this trip, just as we do with our seven Antwerp trips throughout the year, to give our retailers an advantage over their competition by taking them directly to the source,” said IJO’s President & CEO, Jeff Roberts.

“We accomplish this by coming up with promotional aides and tools that the jewelers can use to position their stores as the “experts in their area,” Roberts continued. “That’s half the battle for most stores and we’re good at helping them with that. We provide advertising materials, promotions that they can utilize both before they leave and after they return, press releases for their local media, and the opportunity to have professional TV commercials shot for them while in the mines and buying product. We document the entire trip.”

The itinerary began with a stop in the charming 17th century town of Ouro Preto. While in Ouro Preto, the jewelers had the opportunity to visit the Gemological Museum at the University of Mineas Gerais and one of the oldest gold mines in all of Brazil, Mina da Passagem before venturing to the outskirts of the city to see the famous Capao Imperial Topaz mine. Next it was on to the city of Itibira, where the jewelers visited two working emerald mines, the Belmont mine, which is fully mechanized and the Capoeirana emerald mine, which features old-fashioned shafts.

The next stop on the Gem Safari was the city of Governador Valadares, located in the richest pegmatite area in all of Brazil and the home to our host company, Ben Sabbagh Brothers, a prominent Brazilian colored stone supplier. While in Governador Valadares, the retailers took advantage of the opportunity to visit working tourmaline, morganite, aquamarine & kunzite mines, as well as the showroom and offices of Ben Sabbagh Brothers to hand select their own colored gemstones for shipment back to their stores.

The final destinations on this safari included the capital city of Bahia, Salvador where the travelers were able to soak up a little R & R and enjoy some Bahian cuisine before departing for the final destination on this journey, the magnificent city of Rio de Janeiro.

Master IJO Jewelers are members of the Independent Jewelers Organization (IJO), the largest jewelry buying group in the world with over 850 retail jewelry stores worldwide.
###