When we look inside our country, we realize there is no greater wealth in our surroundings than our own culture. And that from this close look we can make improvements and positively impact the planet and people.
Times are different and our understanding of luxury may need to be expanded in order to reach places where even we may not have yet arrived. These are cultures that need to be known to the world so that they can continue to exist and happen. We need to value our natural and manual treasures, in addition to collaborating the quality of life of artisan communities throughout our Brazil. With these partnerships, we hope that more and more the world can have access to these cultures and that more and more these cultures can have access to the world.
However, we do not intend to present a planned path, because that path is precisely a process under construction. But we know that it goes through respect for cultures, protection to the environment, support for local economic development of these communities, defense of historical social issues in our country and, above all, the need to overcome the individual scale of our actions .
We are just getting started, because for us the future is now and it can and should be bright for everyone!
CONSCIOUS MINING
All our raw material, and therefore our creations, come from the earth. Thinking about sustainable solutions is not an option, but our main objective. That is why this philosophy is now engrained into our company’s mission statement. These values naturally go hand in hand with other contemporary issues like more focus on the local economy and responsible social investment to nurture the appreciation of Brazilian culture and resources. “I work only as a pedestal for stones, the real luxury comes from nature,” says Ara.
Even the concept of luxury is adapting with our times. Today, transparency of your supply chain is an ethical obligation. Giving a voice, a face and a quality of life to the artisans who keep the jewelry tradition alive in different regions of Brazil is one way of perpetuating the art of conscious mining, hereby giving visibility and value to suppliers that care about future generations, whether that be in Minas Gerais or Rio Grande do Norte, for example, from which Emeralds and Paraiba Tourmalines are extracted, respectively.
With this philosophy in mind, Ara Vartanian works with two pillars:
- Responsible extraction: Suppliers and mining projects that follow healthy protocols for all employees, support the communities around the mines and work devotedly in reforestation and water treatment.
- Sustainability: pursue the objective of implementing sustainable actions along the entire chain, such as recycling waste, controlling the disposal of waste materials and the consumption of water.
All conscious mining projects are done in partnership with the Cruzeiro Mine, responsible for extracting Rubellite and Indicolite Tourmalines, and the Belmont Mine and the Brazil Paraiba Mine, which extract Emeralds and Paraiba Tourmalines, respectively.
The Future is Brilliant
Partnership With the Wai Wai Tribe
The first project of the program "The Future is Brilliant", created in 2018, was the collaboration of the Ara Vartanian brand with women from the indigenous tribe Wai Wai, from the Amazon. The objective of making this commitment was to raise awareness in the luxury market for the conservation of Brazilian biomes and the appreciation of our culture and artisan communities.
Teenage Cancer Trust
Teen Cancer America is a charity devoted to transforming the lives of teenagers and young adults living with cancer in the US. Teen Cancer America are working to create special programme and facilities for the age group of 13 to 24-year olds. They create state-of-the-art youth-focused programs and facilities to meet the needs of teens and young adults suffering with cancer.
RPPN Besouro de Fogo
The Besouro de Fogo Private Natural Heritage Reserve was born in June 2019, located in Serra da Bocaína, São José do Barreiro, São Paulo. Besouro de Fogo is part of a group of RPPNs and together they conserve and protect an area of more than 500 hectares of forest.
