About us
Over 120 years of luxury tradition in Bogotá.
Our history
Almacén del Día — Palacio Liévano, Plaza de Bolívar, c. 1903.
1903 · Almacén del Día
In 1903, Enrique Liévano founded the Almacén del Día at the Palacio Liévano, on Plaza de Bolívar. It was a luxury department store where the people of Bogotá found the best of what arrived in the city, from watches to fine cloths. It is the direct origin of today's Joyería Liévano.
Ignacio Liévano at the Almacén del Día, c. 1960.
Mid-century · The pivot to Colombian jewelry
Under the Rojas Pinilla government, luxury imports were closed off. As the market reshaped itself, Ignacio Liévano recognized two truths about Colombia: the country had the finest emeralds in the world and a deep goldsmithing tradition that was barely being put to use.
His idea — "let's set our emeralds with diamonds" — reoriented the entire business toward domestic high jewelry. The Almacén del Día became Joyería Liévano.
Print advertisement, c. 1980.
Decades of consolidation
Over the following decades, the brand established itself as one of Bogotá's references in fine jewelry, with a presence in different parts of the city and an aesthetic identity that became recognizable to several generations of clients.
Two generations
Camilo Liévano trained as a GIA-certified gemologist and joined the family business. Ignacio passed on the uncompromising standard of quality that has defined the house for decades. Today Camilo leads the business, carrying forward with discipline and pride the standards of quality his father instilled in him.
Current store — Hacienda Santa Bárbara, Las Plazuelas.
Today · Hacienda Santa Bárbara
We operate today at the Hacienda Santa Bárbara shopping mall, in Las Plazuelas, store B103. Same family, same craft — over 120 years on.
The craft
Inner «18K» stamp and Liévano hallmark.
18-karat gold
Every Liévano piece carries the «18K» stamp and our hallmark on the inside. 18-karat gold is 75 % pure gold and 25 % alloy, and is the worldwide standard for fine jewelry.
The reason is balance: enough gold to preserve the warm color, brilliance and value of the noble metal, but enough alloy to give the piece the hardness it needs to withstand daily wear and to hold precious stones securely. 24-karat gold is too soft for jewelry; 14-karat or below sacrifices color and value.
Handmade manufacturing
Every piece is handmade in our workshops in Bogotá, or personally selected by Camilo and his wife from longtime suppliers at leading international trade fairs — chiefly in Italy, a country recognized for the highest standards of jewelry production. Our master jewelers — trained within the same line that runs through the rest of the house — melt, roll, measure, assemble, set and polish each piece by hand. Many of our pieces are exclusive designs or one-of-a-kind creations, made to mark meaningful moments.
The stones · reviewed one by one by Camilo Liévano
Every stone that enters a Liévano piece is reviewed and chosen personally, one by one, by Camilo Liévano — a GIA-certified gemologist and president of the Círculo Colombiano de Joyerías (the Colombian Jewelers' Circle). That direct selection is what ensures every piece leaving our house meets the standard we have held for over a century.
Colombian emeralds
Colombian emeralds are the most coveted in the world. The mines of Boyacá — Muzo, Coscuez and Chivor — produce a unique green, more vivid than emeralds of any other origin, thanks to the combination of chromium and vanadium in their geology.
Liévano was one of the houses that bet earliest and most decisively on the Colombian emerald, following Ignacio Liévano's vision. We only sell emeralds reviewed in person by Camilo, guaranteeing the highest quality.
Diamonds
We work exclusively with natural, GIA-certified diamonds, under these standards:
- Color · F or above (in very large stones some leeway is allowed, but never below I). The GIA grades color on a scale running from D (completely colorless, the rarest and most valuable) to Z (with a noticeable yellow or brown tint). D-E-F are "colorless"; G-H-I-J are "near colorless" and still look white once mounted.
- Clarity · VS2 or above. The GIA scale runs from FL (no internal or external flaws under 10× loupe) to I3 (inclusions visible to the naked eye). The VS range — "very slightly included", VS1 and VS2 — means the inclusions exist but are so small a gemologist can barely spot them under a loupe, and they are entirely invisible to the unaided eye.
- Cut · GIA-ideal proportions, with minimal margin of error. The GIA grades cut as Excellent / Very Good / Good / Fair / Poor; our diamonds are consistently Excellent, which maximizes brilliance, fire and scintillation. We do not accept 105-point diamonds with the face of a 95-pointer — a common practice that inflates carat weight at the expense of light performance.
- Fluorescence · to taste. Some diamonds exhibit fluorescence, a natural light the diamond emits constantly, though only visible to the human eye under certain conditions. For many it's a magical secret their diamond carries.
Sapphires and rubies
We work with a specialized supplier of deep gemological knowledge, with whom we have a 36-year relationship. Selection follows the same standards of color, clarity and durability we apply to our diamonds and emeralds.
Pearls
Our pearls are cultured, of oriental origin, selected for their luster and nacre by a supplier that has worked with the house for many years. We use them on their own or, as in these earrings, accented with diamonds.
Natural color stones
Beyond the four classic precious stones lies a wide family of color stones: amethyst, citrine, peridot, topaz, garnet, tourmaline and many others.
They don't carry the historical weight of an emerald or a ruby, but their beauty is entirely their own — vivid colors, unexpected combinations, and the chance to bring a great variety of stones together in a single piece. We work them with the same 18k gold, the same handmade craftsmanship and the same care in selection as the rest of our jewelry.
Knowledge & accreditation
To stay current with techniques, trends and new materials, we travel each year to the most important international jewelry fairs in the world. Among them: Vicenza, Arezzo, Basel, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Ankara and Miami.
Camilo Liévano serves as president of the Círculo Colombiano de Joyerías, a non-profit association founded in 1993 to make sure each member jeweler meets the essential technical and commercial requirements and accurately describes its products at the point of sale — giving clients the confidence that what they purchase is genuine.
Hacienda Santa Bárbara shopping mall
Las Plazuelas · Store B103 · Bogotá, Colombia