The brand created by two entrepreneurs focuses on limited editions and capsule collections, exclusively designed by well-known architects, fashion designers, and other artistic creators.
The Portuguese jewellery and goldsmith sector has just become richer. It has had a new brand – Sharma – for a few days, born from two stories of female entrepreneurship that converged into one.
Brigitte Costa and Bruna Cabral are the faces that give identity to the brand, which aims to “make refinement more accessible” in a multifaceted way, with a world of “timeless jewellery designed for modern, cosmopolitan, and active people.” According to the style of creators from different artistic fields and inspirations. And the mastery of Portuguese goldsmiths in the art of working with the noblest metals.
Sharma intends to create limited edition lines and renew them every two months. It will also periodically invest in capsule collections, exclusively designed – always with a genesis inspiration – by well-known architects, designers, and creators from other artistic fields, most of whom are well-known to the general public.
The first collaboration of this kind will result from a partnership with architect Álvaro Siza Vieira and will be launched on the market by the end of the year.
For now, the brand starts with its seed collection – Pétala – the first created by the duo of entrepreneurs, which will always be available on the brand’s website. It also moves forward with the first models from what is called the Sharma collection, which will cyclically include seven earrings, seven rings, seven bracelets, and seven necklaces. Sets that will take on new shapes every 60 days. With pieces produced in 925 silver or 925 silver with 18-carat gold plating, and gemstones.
At this first moment, only the capsule collections should include solid gold and the inclusion of natural precious gems, decided on a case-by-case basis.
The brand’s market entry phase will be conducted through e-commerce and strategic partnerships with five-star and boutique hotels, as well as some museums, from north to south of the country.
Sharma’s strategy aligns with the main trends in the state of fashion, including jewellery, such as online commerce, which is redefining the expectations of potential customers and businesses; consumer preference for private labels with a strong identity and distinguishing factors; and also the investment in storytelling and the brand’s ability to engage consumers in its motivations and inspirations.
The luxury segment, with differentiated products a high level of quality, and access to the external market are two of the other paths Sharma intends to pursue in the short to medium term.
“We want to stand out for difference, originality, and particularly for the exclusivity and timelessness of our collections. Sharma is sophisticated – sometimes exuberant, restrained – with confidence, comfort, joy, and empowerment. Female and not only, since we intend to launch collections for various audiences, including male,” emphasizes Brigitte Costa, the more creative side of the founding duo of Sharma.
Identity and Reinvention
According to the Association of Goldsmithing and Watchmaking of Portugal, the main corporate body of the sector (which represents over 500 of the leading companies, responsible for 9,900 jobs), the national goldsmithing industry recorded a turnover of 1.2 billion euros in 2021, thanks to the work of approximately 10,000 people. There will be more than four thousand companies operating in the country.
Export volume reached 313 million euros in 2022 (the highest value since 2017), an increase of over 20% compared to the previous year. Italy, Germany, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, the USA, and South Korea are currently the main external markets for Portugal.
With a legacy of hundreds of years incorporating knowledge and craftsmanship, Portuguese goldsmithing is managing to reinvent itself through the creativity of new designers – and brands – and the workbenches of Portuguese goldsmiths, which have a production centre concentrated mainly in the municipality of Gondomar, considered the capital of goldsmithing in Portugal, where more than 400 companies are located (70% of them owned by individual entrepreneurs), that is, about 42% of the annual production of our country.
The arrival of Sharma in the market is another example of how Portuguese goldsmithing and jewellery have shown an ability to maintain their authenticity, rooted in their history and tradition while adding a culture of innovation and disruption, typical of new waves of professionals (designers, creators, goldsmiths, entrepreneurs) and ideas. That is identity. And identity means a lot in Portuguese goldsmithing.
About Sharma
Can noble metals and (semi)precious stones arise (almost) from nothing – and with the intensity of lightning – in one, two, or more lives, with the light that allows illuminating and balancing the path to a happier and more productive personal and professional horizon? They can. Because that is what happened to the two entrepreneurs, whose career was made in other sectors, who embody Sharma, the new Portuguese brand of goldsmithing and jewellery.
The brand emerges to make refinement accessible, in a multifaceted way, with a world of jewellery designed for modern, cosmopolitan, and active people, according to the style of creators from different artistic fields and inspirations. And then, the centuries-old mastery – often innovative and disruptive – of the hands of national goldsmiths in shaping the firstborn of each collection. As if each piece were the first. And unique.
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