ahrner jewellery from Pforzheim occupies a special place in the history of jewellery from Germany. Theodor Fahrner and later his successor Gustav Braendle knew how to make artistically convincing designs and high-quality workmanship the hallmark of their brooches, necklaces, bracelets and earrings in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco eras like hardly any other modern jewellery manufacturer.
Theodor Fahrner made artists’ jewellery affordable because he combined modern forms with democratic materials. He did not create individual pieces for a small elite like Lalique or Cartier, but rather the designs were produced in large numbers in silver, decorated with enamel, marcasites and occasionally precious stones. Jewellers and department stores all over Europe sold the jewellery, which Fahrner advertised extensively in journals and magazines: “Fahrner Schmuck – entzückt – beglückt” (“Fahrner Jewellery – delights – pleases”) let every woman participate in a modern life full of beauty.
Every year, travelling salesmen with large sample cases presented the new products developed in Pforzheim to local jewellers. One such sample case full of unworn Fahrner jewellery had been slumbering untouched in an attic for the last 40 years or more until it was offered to us. It contained samples of almost all series from about 1919 until the dissolution of the company in 1979, most of them with a model number or the “Original Fahrner” seal. We present these jewels on this page.
A basic overview of the company’s designs can be found in the catalogue “Theodor Fahrner. Schmuck zwischen Avantgarde und Tradition”, edited by Brigitte Leonhardt and Dieter Zühlsdorff, Stuttgart 2005.
