Hans Stern

Hans Stern (October 1, 1922 – October 26, 2007) was a Brazilian jeweler and businessman. He was dubbed the "king of the colored gems" by the New York Times and acclaimed by the international media.

Born in Essen, Germany, on October 1, 1922, Stern immigrated from Germany to Brazil at outbreak of World War II. Hans arrived in Brazil as a Jewish German immigrant when he was just 17 years old.

Stern 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. 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 gems There 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".

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