The Tribune

Honouring its heritage while investing in its future, the Bahamian-born jewellery brand Colombian Emeralds International (CEI) is renewing its focus on local customers, longstanding partnerships and the next generation.

The grand reopening of its newly renovated Marina Village boutique at Atlantis Paradise Island marked an exciting new chapter for one of The Bahamas’ most recognisable jewellery brands.

Following several months of extensive renovations, the boutique has been transformed into a contemporary retail space featuring modern architectural elements, elegant displays, expansive glass windows and CEI’s distinctive green and gold accents. An expanded assortment of fine jewellery, gemstones and new collections completes the refreshed experience.

But for CEI, the evening was about far more than a new store.

It was a celebration of a company born in The Bahamas, shaped by its people and partnerships, and now investing confidently in its future.

Founded in Freeport in 1980, CEI began with a vision to build a jewellery company known for quality, integrity and exceptional service. As the business grew, Maxwell Gibson helped expand CEI throughout The Bahamas and ultimately across the Caribbean.

Together, they helped transform a Bahamian-born business into one of the region’s most recognised jewellery retailers, today operating more than 40 locations across 14 Caribbean destinations. Gibson’s exacting standards and deep relationships with employees and customers also helped shape a culture that remains central to CEI today.

The reopening brought together company executives, employees, customers, corporate partners, invited guests, media and members of the Bahamian community to celebrate CEI’s past while offering a glimpse of where the brand intends to go next.

For Director Zoe Gibson, that future includes a renewed focus on the Bahamian customer.

“This reopening is about so much more than a beautiful new boutique,” Gibson said. “It celebrates more than four decades of relationships, hard work and shared memories. For generations, CEI has been part of our visitors’ Bahamian stories, and now we’re equally focused on becoming part of the everyday stories of Bahamians. We want CEI to be the brand Bahamians see as their own whether they’re celebrating one of life’s biggest milestones or simply looking for something beautiful to wear every day.”

At the same time, CEI is looking outward. Now part of Avolta, one of the world’s leading travel retail companies, the brand is combining the resources and reach of a global organization with the heritage, relationships and regional knowledge that have defined CEI for more than four decades.

With Marina Village now officially reopened, CEI operates four boutiques in The Bahamas: Marina Village and Royal Towers at Atlantis Paradise Island; Bay Street near Rawson Square in downtown Nassau; and Port Lucaya Marketplace in Freeport, Grand Bahama.

More than four decades after CEI first opened its doors in Freeport, the showcases may be new, but the ambition remains familiar: to honour what has been built, invest in what comes next, and ensure that a company born in The Bahamas continues to give Bahamians something they can proudly call their own.