Though it's been a rough year for everyone, new jewelry businesses such as Matilde have been cropping up here and there. The owner of said jewelry business, Matilde Faria Mourinho Felix, spoke with JCK in an interview about her new brand and its decision to use lab-grown diamonds.
Mourinho Felix was asked why she decided to get into jewelry. "I have always loved jewelry and the power it has to hold such personal memories, not to mention its ability to tell stories about a person, their character, their beliefs," she said. "The more I learned about the harmful effects of mining and the unsustainable practices within the jewelry industry, the more natural it felt to go down this route in my own career and start my own business."
When asked about her brand's use of lab-grown diamonds, Mourinho Felix said, "lab-grown diamonds are chemically and physically identical to mined diamonds, all without the negative environmental and societal impacts. I learned so much about the practices of the mining industry, and when I found an identical alternative that didn’t have to cost us the earth, I knew straight away I couldn’t go back to purchasing a mined diamond. It’s important to me and to my brand to be able to spread awareness of this alternative, and even better to offer resources to those who are unfamiliar with lab-grown diamonds."
Launching a brand in 2020 of all years is truly a grand undertaking. When Mourinho Felix was asked how business has been, she said "the reception has been overwhelming! When I started working on the beginning stages of building the brand, nobody knew what was coming in 2020, and with this I was faced with a choice of: Do I pause and resume when “this is all over,” or do I take it as a challenge and grab the opportunity to go ahead? I decided to go ahead for several reasons—I really found that this year made consumers much more aware of the origins of their products as well as the practices of the brands they choose to follow. I think connecting with customers online is a great resource, especially when social media is such a direct form of communication that allows organic and authentic communities to build and grow."
Information originally sourced from JCK.
