Anahi mines Bolivian gem
A jewelry store that recently opened at Woodfield features rare, colorfulgems only produced from a mine nestled in Bolivia's rainforest.
Anahi jewelry store, making its debut in the United States, highlights jewelry made with the rare ametrine stone, a combination of the amethyst and citrine stones in one crystal. It's believed that the Anahi mine in Bolivia is the only place in the world where the unusual stone is found.
Amethyst, citrine and anahite stones are also produced in the Eastern Bolivian mine and now sold at the Schaumburg mall.
Ramiro Rivero, who at one time lived in Chicago, purchased the rights to the Anahi mine 17 years ago. The native of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, has grown his company, Minerales y Metales del Oriente, over the years selling the stones to various international markets.
He recently switched the focus of his company to the individual consumer. His company designs limited edition pieces that sell at his four retail stores, three of them in his native country. While testing the market in the Eastern Bolivian providence of Santa Cruz, Rivero decided it's time to expand to the United States. The jewelry is going over well in Bolivia, a landlocked country in central South America bordered by Brazil on the north and Argentina to the south.
Rivero employs about 150 people who work in the sweltering, 15,000-acre Bolivian mine where humid temperatures range from 60 degrees for a few weeks in the winter to 100 in the summer months. He employs another 250 designers and manufactures, including his son and daughter who assist in running the business.
The jewelry company is one of the only in the world that not only mines gemstones, but also cuts and polishes gems, designs and manufactures jewelry and now sells it direct to the customer.
The majority of the jewelry found at the Woodfield shop comes directly from the mine. Rivero, 61, takes pride in the fact that every piece is part of a limited edition.
"There are only about 200 pieces of the most common design," he said during a phone interview from his offices in Bolivia. Prices at the store range from $50 for a pair of earrings to $14,000 for a one of a kind pendant with large gemstones.
He only uses 18 karat gold and the new argentium sterling silver.
"We're offering the public something different," Rivero said. The average price for an item at the store is $1,000, said store manager Randi Kranz.
"What you find at this store, you won't find anywhere else," said Woodfield General Manager Marc Strich. "Woodfield is a venue where many companies debut their concept. It's a gorgeous store -- a very classy operation," Strich said.
Rivero hand-picked Woodfield because of its reputation and his connection to the Chicago area. He attended the former Chicago Technical College in 1966 and met his wife, Maria, who is also Bolivian, in Chicago. He started his career in international marketing for metals. Jewelry was a side business that he turned into a mini-empire.
A 352-pound ametrine crystal sits in the mall store window attracting the attention of passersby. Once inside Anahi, located on the lower level near Macy's, shoppers will find an array of deep yellow citrine and pale lavender amethyst pieces.
The new breed of ametrine jewelry features purple and yellow that appear randomly throughout the gemstone, at times blending into a peach-colored mix.
Kranz, who has worked in the retail jewelry industry for 20 years, said there is some confusion about the ametrine crystal and where it comes from for some shoppers, as in the past it has been created in a lab.
"It's very amazing that these quartz crystals are only created in this one part of the world," Kranz said. The crystals are affected by heat and it's believed that's what has changed the color of the stone over the years.
"Customers are truly amazed when they come in," she said.