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 Most of the buying in Ouro Preto was done in the offices of the jewelry stores that lined the square in the main part of the historic district. Buying here was very different from buying in Teofilo Otoni. The dealers in Ouro Preto were used to dealing with tourist who didn't know the value of the stones and weren't looking to resell. It took us a few days to get them to understand we knew what we were doing...most of the time.    Dealers would often come up to us on the street, and then take us to their office or jewelry store to see more goods.  Devin eventually bought a parcel from this dealer..after three days of negotiations and each telling the other they were crazy for wanting such a price.    Just some of the gorgeous crystals we didn't buy. *sigh*   This gentleman and his wife were transplanted Germans who owned a jewelry store near our hotel. They were very kind and showed us many of their specimens even after it was clear we couldn't afford them. The one pictured above is an emerald in matrix. 
Use the links below to check out other topics of interest from our trip to Brazil.
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