Crieri and the Colombian Emerald: “a long love story”
Crieri is a brand born five years ago with the aim to enhance Made in Italy craftsmanship through a modern and innovative twist. Starting from the specialization in the production of tennis bracelets that have become iconic throughout the national territory (to the point of giving life to the famous slogan: “I don’t want a tennis, I want a Crieri”) the company has dedicated itself to the creation of contemporary jewelry collections in which the use of the Colombian Emerald is recurrent and has become one of the brand’s distinctive characteristics.
Recently, Crieri celebrated the bond with this precious gem by presenting the Bogotà 1996 collection, of which the Colombian Emerald is the absolute protagonist, through an immersive and cultural experience in an exclusive location in the heart of Puglia, the famous Masseria Torre Coccaro. The event, which gathered the company’s customers in Italy, crowned the “long love story” between Crieri and the Colombian Emerald. A story that began in 1996, after the first trip to Bogotà of Alessandro Saracino, founder of the company, who fell in love with Colombia, to the point of opening a company headquarters in the capital, where the best emeralds are still locally extracted and selected for Crieri.
“The Colombian Emerald – explains Michela Saracino, Marketing Manager Crieri – is the rarest and most precious of emeralds.” In fact, the deposits of Colombia give rise to the purest emeralds that exist, being the only ones located in sedimentary rocks, rather than in molten rocks. “Due to its size and the intense green color that reminds of the beauty of nature, life, hope, the Colombian Emerald is considered the most beautiful in the world. And it is this innate elegance that inspires Crieri’s creativity every day. In two years we have created over two thousand jewels with Colombian Emeralds and each creation is unique: considering the single gem, we create a one-of-a-kind project that can best enhance it. Always with our distinctive style, which aims to reinterpret the great classics of jewelry in a contemporary way.”
Crieri’s mission is to spread the story of the Colombian Emerald and the culture of this magical gem. “We address the younger generations – explains Michela Saracino – whom we wish to involve to bring them closer to jewelry and make them deepen their knowledge of stones, jewelry and their origins.” Professor and Gemmologist Pio Visconti gave a lecture during the event in the sophisticated Apulian location and illustrated the most surprising aspects of Colombian Emeralds. For example, he demonstrated how the emerald has always accompanied the history of mankind. In fact, this gem, which in ancient Egypt was considered a symbol of eternal life, is one of the oldest on Earth: its genesis could date back to 2.6 billion years ago, and the first emerald mines date back to 1800 BC. Just like the Crieri creations, each gem is unique. In fact, each emerald tells a different story and presents some inclusions in the inside that make it unrepeatable.
“It is a choice of deep love that unites Crieri and Colombia and the Colombian Emerald” – says Michela Saracino – “and this indissoluble bond brings to light the combination of tradition and innovation, which characterizes each of our creations. We are a company that is always open to innovation and we believe that only by combining tradition and innovation will we reach the hearts of the young, managing to bring them closer to the world of jewelry which is a fascinating world of passion and culture.”
Crieri’s vision is contemporary and perfectly coherent with its creations: experience is essential as it is something that cannot be forgotten. And it was this unforgettable experience in contact with the Colombian Emerald, with the beauty of the Italian territory and with culture, to demonstrate that there is a soul in this story. Starting from the millenary origins of the emerald, this story looks to the future, combining tradition with contemporaneity under a single name: Crieri.