Photos of FIPP2009 (Feira Internacional das Pedras Preciosas), Teófilo Otoni, Minas Gerais

Yesterday, I ran across a very nice set of photos of FIPP2009:

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/uly4/2/1251291872/tpod.html#pbrowser/uly4/2/1251291872/filename=overview-of-a-show-section.jpg

...

FIPP2009 is opening auspiciously!!!

The latest news on FIPP2009 is that lots of international buyers are in town!

Naturally, the dealers are very pleased and excited about this.

I won't have much more information until Friday or Saturday, but I will just say that I am very happy for the gem dealers and miners of the region.

International buyers are already in Teófilo Otoni, in advance of FIPP2009

The news from Teófilo Otoni is that buyers have already been in town for a week ahead of FIPP2009. My sources tell me that they have seen buyers from Germany, Italy, and Israel. In particular, the buyer from Germany was surrounded by sellers, meaning that he actually is spending some money.

Normally, the big buyers come in before the gem fair begins and buy all the good stuff early. However, current production of good rough continues to be very low. Good stones are not available in large quantities, except from the larger more established firms, with very high prices, except for aquamarines, which as I have written before, are as common as popcorn.

OK, this is just my opinion, but I will give it, anyway.

Firms that are well positioned to ride out the crisis (those who have managed their cash flow wisely and did not take risks and become overextended) are using this opportunity to buy for clients who are in the same situation, and they are also buying with the long-term future in mind.

It is my understanding that prices have declined only a little. This is where the laws of supply and demand come in. There is relatively little supply of good stones because mining production has been greatly reduced for several months.

I would tend to say that any real buyers are buying now to snap up what is left of production.

And these are the buyers who can afford to wait a long time for sales or who already have orders of some kind.

My good friend, Natasha Petrova, will be scanning the scene by this coming Friday.

At that time, she will be able to talk to the dealers and let me know how things went. I have also asked her to take some photos for posting to this blog. [This year, I had to make an unexpected trip to the States, so I will not be there, myself, as I had intended.] She has already told me that Russian jewelry companies have not placed any orders. [The financial crisis has hit Russia much more than other countries.]

FIPP2009 (Feira Internacional das Pedras Preciosas), Teófilo Otoni, Minas Gerais

Last week, it seemed that FIPP2009 might not go on; however, according to Monday night's news broadcast, whatever complications there might have been have now been resolved, and FIPP2009 is good to go!!!

FIPP2009 (Feira Internacional das Pedras Preciosas), Teófilo Otoni, Minas Gerais

Feria de Piedras (for our Spanish readers), Teófilo Otoni

Just a tiny update here to let you all know that according to my contacts in Teófilo Otoni, the upcoming edition of FIPP is still on (August 25-28, 2009).

There is, however, a slight problem with the GEA website, possibly due to an error creeping into the code during a change. The FIPP2009 page with its poster has disappeared.

But the webpage for signing up for the gem fair is still there:

http://www.geabrasil.com/inscricao.php

International Gem Fair will be held!!! FIPP2009, August 25-28, 2009, Teófilo Otoni, Brazil

Boy, am I ever pleased to be able to write this post!!!!

Here is the official site for registering for the 2009 Feira Internacional das Pedras Preciosas (FIPP: International Gemstone Fair)!

In Portuguese and English: http://www.geabrasil.com/inscricao.php

In better times (I am thinking of 2006 and before), the fair was held in the main square (Praça Tiradentes), where you can stand under the trees outside the pavillion and have the birds drop fruit juice from the berries on top of your head or in your eye while watching the tree sloths. Tree sloths are called preguiças in Portuguese (loosely translated, this means "lazy" or "sleepy" ones), and the praça is the only place where I have seen them.

Did you know that "Tiradentes" means tooth puller? Perhaps an archaic word for dentist? No, Tiradentes is a great hero of Minas Gerais who was executed by impalement in Ouro Preto -- Yikes!!!! Don't worry, it was a very long time ago! For more on the history of this Mineiran hero, click here: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Tiradentes

[OK, here it is -- it doesn't matter where you are as a tourist, the tour guides will often tell you the most complete nonsense right off the top of their heads. I visited Ouro Preto in 1998, and the guide actually showed me the very spot where Tiradentes had been executed. I absorbed it all. However, if you go to the above link, you will read that he was executed by hanging in Rio de Janeiro. hmmm]

According to the gem dealers I have talked to over the past few weeks, they expect the show to be held inside the Palmeiras Country Club. In fact, this is a pretty good spot, although without the small town charm of the praça. I prefer the praça because it is close to the offices of the dealers, some of the best cutters, all the banks, and lots of places to eat with good food and good prices.

The Palmeiras Country Club does offer good security, and it is very close to one of the better hotels (more on this later), as well as being within walking distance of the SESC pousada. The SESC pousada does offer wireless Internet (but I will check on this, again, next week, to be sure), and it is very close (5 minutes walking) to the bus station. Almost directly across the street from the pousada is a wonderful place for having lunch with a wide variety of fresh dishes that only Mineiras can cook. I am thinking of going down to Teófilo Otoni early next week, so I will firm up all these little details with business names and addresses.

I am not sure where all of the little stands will be located (another detail to be provided later).

The fair is organized by the GEA (known as the Gem Exporters Association in English, but the Portuguese name is Associação dos Comerciantes e Exportadores de Jóias e Gemas do Brasil, which translates as Association of Business Owners and Exporters of Jewelry and Gems of Brazil). Brazilians are fond of pronouncing the anacronyms as if they were words, so the GEA is called the "gee ah" (that is a hard "g" as in gadfly). I'll tell ya, though, Brazilians talk so fast that even knowing what they are going to say, I find it difficult to catch it all.

That's all for now, folks!

(But I am soooo happy!!!!)

Copyright © 2009 N. Tenney Naumer -- All rights reserved.

Brazil Gem Show, Governador Valadares, and FIPP2009 (Feira Internacional das Pedras Preciosas), Teófilo Otoni

UPDATE:  FIPP2009 IN TEÓFILO OTONI WILL GO FORWARD -- WILL BE HELD ON 25-28 AUGUST 2009!

I'm here in Teófilo Otoni, a city I really love (especially when the weather is as it was today -- the temperature was perfect and the humidity was low).

I was expecting the streets to be a bit calmer, but like many cities in Brazil, Teófilo Otoni has been experiencing quite a bit of growth in recent years (not due to the stone business, I might add).

OK, so the word on the street is that the Brazil Gem Show has been cancelled. That is a great pity, but if too few people have signed up, then what else can they do?

So what is going to happen in Teófilo Otoni this August with FIPP2009 (Feira Internacional das Pedras Preciosas)?

I sincerely doubt we will know the answer to that question for a couple more months.

Copyright © 2009 N. Tenney Naumer -- All rights reserved.

FIPP2009 cancelada? Feira Internacional das Pedras Preciosas, Teófilo Otoni, Minas Gerais, August

UPDATE: July 3, 2009: my friends in Teófilo Otoni are telling me that sales are dead, but the FIPP2009 has NOT been cancelled.

____________________________________________________

UPDATE: May 9, 2009: right now it appears that all systems are go for the 2009 FIPP!

____________________________________________________

Well, if this happens I will be really, really disappointed, and I won't be the only one.

There is some talk now that the gem fair in Teófilo Otoni, scheduled for August, will be cancelled.

From what I understand, the association was thinking of having it at the Palmeiras Country Club, which is just up a steep hill from the SESC (a nice, clean, inexpensive place to stay!).

If the vendors and the association do not have enough funding to rent the pavillion and hold the fair in the square, then indeed, the country club would be a great venue.

The club is still far from the banks, cutters, and dealers' offices, but it is also located near the better hotels and also very near the bus station (not to mention SESC). There are also some nice restaurants in that neighborhood of town.

The praça (square) was the most ideal location, but if it is not doable, then the country club idea ain't half bad.

OK everybody, please cross your fingers and hope the gem fair in Teófilo Otoni will carry on.

Brazil Gem Show homepage in English:

http://www.brazilgemshow.com/en/index.htm

Brazil Gem Show homepage in Portuguese:

http://www.brazilgemshow.com/pt/index.htm

Copyright © 2009 N. Tenney Naumer -- All rights reserved.

Brazil Gem Show foi cancelado? Scheduled for June 2009 in Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais

UPDATE: PLEASE DO NOT CONFUSE THIS CANCELLATION -- FIPP2009 HAS NOT BEEN CANCELLED, THE SHOW TO BE HELD IN TEÓFILO OTONI, ON 25-28 AUGUST 2009, HAD NOT BEEN CANCELLED!

My friends in Teófilo Otoni are telling me that the Brazil Gem Show scheduled for June 2009 has been cancelled. However, there is no official word on this as of yet, and the website is not showing anything on this.

Here is the current list of exhibitors:

Auriverde
BC Gemas
Ben Sabbagh Bros.
Bezim Pedras
BGC Gemas
Blue Gem Ind.
Caimex
CAMBRY
Carneiro Gems Stone
CMP Cristais
Cosmos
Cristalina Ltda
Di Grande
Embrarad
Enigma Gems
Gemas de Minas
Geometa Ltda
GRP Gemas
ICA
Igem
J. G. Ltda
J. Pinto Pedras
Js Gems
Lapidação Industrial
Lapidação Minas Gemas
Lapidart
Luciane Sabbagh
Manoel Bernardes
Manoel Nogueira
Marcelo Gemas
Marjon Bio-Jóias
Mineração MG
Mosalite
Natural Gems
Neiva & Neiva
Nevestones
Opalas Pedro II
OTF Gems - Org
Paixão Pedras
PinkStone
Possebon Jóias
P. P. Brazil
Premier Gems
Ribeiro Precious
Rocha Mineração
RM Gemas
Salomon Design Ltda
Tecnoforte
Topázio Imperial
Transport
Vianna Jóias
Vasconcelos Pedras
Wilson's Pedras

Brazil Gem Show homepage in English:

http://www.brazilgemshow.com/en/index.htm

Brazil Gem Show homepage in Portuguese:

http://www.brazilgemshow.com/pt/index.htm

12th Annual Brazil Gem Show, Governador Valadares, MG, June 25-28 2009

UPDATE:  THE SHOW IN GOVERNADOR VALADARES WAS CANCELLED.

THE FIPP2009 WILL GO ON!  THE GEM FAIR IN TEÓFILO OTONI WILL BE HELD ON 25-28 AUGUST 2009!!!

Below is the text of the press release for the upcoming annual gem show in Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, Brazil, to be held on June 25-28, 2009. The exhibition center will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 25th is a Thursday, and most of the big spenders will come in at least one day before the show to see if they can pick up everything they want and leave before the lesser mortals show up. June 28th is a Sunday and is likely to be the day when the local public are allowed to come in and look around. (This is pretty much the same thing that occurs in Teófilo Otoni in August.) Now, differently from Teófilo Otoni, there are not many places to sit and haggle over bargains on the final day. In Teófilo Otoni, the gem show ends on a Saturday, and exhibitors will already begin to pack up on that day. But, I happen to know that if you stay until Sunday, you can go to the praça and continue to pick up good deals, if you make arrangements beforehand. There is really no convenient way to do this in Governador Valadares.

I have a few words to say about the text below. You will note that it says they had 15,000 visitors. Hmmm, I would really like to know how they came up with that figure. My friend, Natasha and I were there in 2007, and it was fairly slow. Natasha has been attending since 2006, and she reported back that 2008 was very, very slow. Things were very nice at the shows in Teófilo Otoni in August 2005 and 2006, but after that, attendance at both shows has dropped off a lot. If there were 15,000 attending, last year, then most likely they were locals. During the first few days of the show, only registered visitors, dealers, and exhibitors are permitted to enter. On the final day, the local public may enter. That might account for the attendance figure. Generally, the locals hardly buy anything -- after all, they live in a gem center all year round, and prices during the show are much higher than they are during the rest of the year.

Now, let's talk about the "180 exhibitors." Hmmm, not inside the main exhibition hall (there are two floors), I would say. But, just outside under tents, there are the smaller sellers of less precious stones and minerals. You can get some good buys on mineral crystals, rose quartz, smoky quartz (also known as "morion" here), dendritic quartz, agates, etc. But, the "good stuff" is inside.

The exhibition hall is situated just up from the bank of a river, making it a very picturesque spot in an area otherwise mostly devoid of natural beauty (the region is largely deforested). However, this year, there has been an absolutely astounding amount of rain, so everything should be very lush and green as opposed to the years of drought. This reminds me that I should check into the situation of the river since so many areas of Brazil are flooding due to the abnormal quantity of rainfall.

One thing that you should know about Governador Valadares is that it is hot! I mean, really hot! And humid! The interior of the exhibition hall is not air conditioned but has a system of misters hanging down from the high ceilings that sprays a fine mist of water into the air. This actually cools things down inside the hall, which gets heated up due to the high-intensity spots that many exhibitors use to show off their wares. But be prepared to sweat!

On the backside of the exhibition hall, there is a large restaurant with pretty good food, and you can sit outside on the ample balcony, resting your feet while overlooking the river, and where there is usually a nice breeze -- very nice and refreshing, indeed!

12th Annual Brazil Gem Show

The world of precious stones trading is here.

Latin America’s largest gem show, the Brazil Gem Show is held in Governador Valadares, one of the major mineral and stones extraction areas in the world. It success in attracting public, attractions and trading have made it a great opportunity to do business with hundreds of exhibitors who offer a large variety of gems and precious stones of incomparable quality. A success in public attendance, attractions and sales, the show is one of the biggest trading opportunities, with hundreds of exhibitors who offer a large variety of incomparable quality gems and precious stones.

The largest gem show in Latin America

Visitors from 22 countries
13 Brazilian states
180 exhibitors
15 thousand visitors

A show of opportunities

The show presents visitors with the trends, products and development policies for the precious stone industry. In a single venue, the visitor will find a wide variety of Brazilian stones, which are the highlight in the domestic and international markets.

The Brazil Gem Show is a Sindijóias Ajomig event (the Minas Gerais Syndicate and Association of Jewelers, Precious Stone, Watch and Fashion Jewelry Traders) and IBGM, the Brazilian Gems and Jewellery Trade Association in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, the Government of the State of Minas Gerais, the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA), the Governador Valadares Municipal Government, FIEMG (Minas Gerais State Industrial Federation), Apex Brasil (Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency) and Sebrae-MG (Brazilian Support Agency to Micro and Small Companies).

____________________________________________

Link to this page: http://www.brazilgemshow.com/en/brazilgemshow.htm

This link will take you to a page where you can sign up to receive upcoming information: http://www.brazilgemshow.com/en/index.htm

Here you can sign up to be a visitor (this is a good idea since you need to register to be permitted to enter -- however, I believe that registration can also be done onsite, provided someone brings you inside and past the security at the main entrance): http://www.brazilgemshow.com/en/beavisitor.htm

Here you can sign up to be an exhibitor (not free and not cheap): http://www.brazilgemshow.com/en/becomeanexhibitor.htm

____________________________________________

Here is some additional information concerning the 2006 show -- 2006 was really a high point in both Governador Valadares and Teófilo Otoni. Let us all hope that such good times return!

Exhibitors and Visitors

The Brazil Gem Show is an event aimed at two different kinds of public:

The main exhibition area with stands and other facilities for gems and jewells trade, exclusivelly open to previously registered professionals with credentials such as exhibitors, traders, designers, buyers, dealers, exporters, newspeople and authorities. The outside area, with restaurants, veranda, hancrafted products exhibition and commerce, workshops and seminars halls will have public free access, representing a large number of visitors from regional communities such as from Valadares, Teófilo Otoni, Ipatinga, Belo Horizonte. The previous exhibition, the 10th Brazil Gem Show represented a big sucess as for public attendance, events and sales. The 2006 Show had 150 exhibitors, 3,500 visitors with credentials and a major 14,000 people flow of visitors to the event.

Link: http://www.brazilgemshow.com/en/brazilstones.htm