History of Portuguese Jewellery

Portugal, a country with centuries-old traditions in the art of Portuguese Jewelry, has a rich heritage of jewelry of timeless beauty.

The brave marine discoveries of the Portuguese were determinant in the great development of the jeweler sector in Portugal. The gems coming from the East as in the XV century and later in the XVIII century the great affluence of gold, diamonds and precious stones coming from Brazil Colony, enriched the metropolis leading to the nobility and other prospering classes looking for luxury jewels as a way of wealth ostentation, social status, and either as a form of enrichment.

This abundance of metals and precious stones and the valorization of the jewels, led to the creation of great masters of jewelry which revolutionized the concept and techniques of jewelry made from the end of the XVIII century to the early XIX century, placing Portugal in a prominent position in the panorama of the Europe production of jewelry