A Small Town In Germany

(via Bangkok Post, September, 6, 2007) Peerawat Jariyasombat writes:

Pforzheim in Baden-Wurttemberg may not find itself on the tourist map, it certainly counts when it comes to high class jewelry. A small town in Germany, Pforzheim is not on the tourist map but for jewelry lovers it has a special meaning. So don’t be surprised if you come across a gold-plated Porsche on its streets. Of course, it is real gold. The one I am talking about is a Porsche Boxster cabriolet, its body clad in 3000 wafer-thin strips of 22-carat gold.

Its proud owner is George Leicht, who operates a jewelry shop downtown. “You are in the city of gold. You can expect a champagne welcome with tiny gold flakes hanging in the bubble,” he said to me.

If you want to learn about German jewelry, Schmuckwelten is a good start for the showroom features world famous brands Chopard, Faberge, Bunz and Wellendorff, all of which are produced in Pforzheim.

What is on show will be enough to stun jewelry lovers. From rings, necklaces and pearls to diamonds, thousands of pieces of jewelry and watches made in Germany and Switzerland are showcased at Schmuckwelten. I had to hold my camera bag carefully just to make sure it didn’t make any scratches on the items on display.

Situated at the gate of the Black Forest, Pforzheim is a town of 119,000 inhabitants, part of the state of Baden-Wurttemberg in southwest Germany. Its jewelry and watch-making industry dates back 240 years. Besides watches and jewelry, Schmuckwelten has two museums that lead visitors into the world of gems and precious ornaments. One, the world of jewelry showcases precious stones and metals. Visitors can learn their processing. There are 11 diagrams illustrating various processes starting from where the precious metals and stones were found until their transformation into finished pieces of jewelry.

In the basement of the same building is the Mineral Museum featuring 5000 exhibits of rare stones. It focuses on minerals from the Black Forest region and Rhineland, as well as amethyst from Brazil. Among the jewelry manufacturers in Pforzheim is Faberge. It’s jeweled eggs have featured in films such as the 1983 James Bond thriller Octopussy and more recently the Ocean’s Twelve released in 2003, whose plots revolved around attempts to steal Faberge eggs kept in highly fortified vaults.

They are among the original 68 jeweled eggs made by Peter Carl Faberge and his assistants for the Russian tsars and private collectors between 1885 and 1917. The eggs are made of precious metals or hard stones decorated with combinations of enamel and gemstones. The term ‘Faberge Egg’ has become synonymous with luxury and regarded as masterpieces of the jeweler’s art.

Faberge started as a Russian brand. After the revolution, its management fled abroad and tried to rebuild the brand but failed, until Victor Mayer bought the brand in 1905 and settled down in Pforzheim. It has kept up with the old Faberge style and craft since.

Dr Marcus Mohr, the president of Victor Mayer GmbH and workmaster of Faberge, walked me around his factor where the staff were busy making jewelry by hand, in true Faberge tradition. It was wonderful watching the beautiful ornament go through the remarkable making process, from rough drawings on paper to finished products without using high technology. Although staff works in the old way, their designs are not boring, every piece being cut and vibrant in color.

One of the most remarkable Faberge works involves engraving watch dial by hand. “Actually, we can easily make it using machine but then it won’t be priceless. At the present there are only three men in Germany who can do it,” Dr Mohr said.

A stone’s throw from Faberge is the elegant showroom of Wellendorff, the brand that devoutly maintains its traditional design and craftsmanship. Founded in 1893, the brand is famed for its gold rope which is woven from gold thread, but amazingly soft and the more remarkable is its turning ring.

The ring can be turned around since it comes with its own hidden wheel inside. It is assembled from four separate parts. Everything is assembled so nicely that water cannot get inside. The secret of its soft gold rope and the turning ring have made Wellendorff famous, even though they are made of 18 carat gold and do not come with a wide choice of design. “Wellendorff is the tradition. We are not going with the fashion trend. We set our own trend,” its owner Hanspeter Wellendorff said.

For more information about jewelry in Pforzheim, visit:
www.schmuckwelten.de
www.wellendorff.com
www.faberge-jewelry.com