About Denize Ramos

Denize’s love of stones and color was kindled when she was 10 years old, while on a journey with her Aunt Laura to Rio de Janeiro. This trip changed the course of her life.

Born in Sergipe, the smallest state in Brazil, located on the northeastern Atlantic coast of the country and the site first settled by the Portuguese, Denize was surrounded by mangroves, sandy beaches, and the small strip of tropical rain forest that runs down the coast. As her aunt prepared for the long four-day trip to Rio, Denize was deeply aware of the change that was about to take place in both their lives ­ denize was going to live with her mother, and Aunt Laura would return to Sergipe. In order to make this time special, her aunt decided that along the way they would stop to visit Minias Gerais (general mines ­ one of 26 states of Brazil) and spend some time to see the beautiful gems that have made this place so famous. Here, for the first time, Denize saw some of Brazil’s finest aquamarine, topaz, toumaline, emeralds, and diamonds. She still remembers this time vividly ­ the excitement, the breathtaking colors. “The colors and light were dazzling,” she recalls, “The reflections from the stones seem to be alive, as if they were dancing.”

As they were leaving Minas Gerais, Aunt Laura bought her some crystals ­ deep purple amethyst and pink rose quartz ­ along with a glass box to hold them. Thus began Denize’s stone collecting. Her stones form the cornerstone of all her jewelry design.

Denize divides her time between her home in Brazil (five minutes from Praia das Tararugas beach) with her husband, eight Schnauzers, and one Yorkshire terrier, and her family in the Washington DC area.