Art Jewelry

Art Jewelry

Art Jewelry

Fahrncr is one of the most desirable names in European eostume jewelry. The German company is known for its stunning Art Deco work, but it produced pieces in many other design styles.

Art Jewelry

Founded in 1855 in Pforzheim, southwest Germany, by Georg Seeger and Theodor Fahrner, the company originally made rings that reflected the contemporary interest in historicism. When Fahrner died in 1883, his son, also called Theodor, took over the company, expanding its output to cover all jewelry types and, more significantly, artistic styles.

Art Jewelry

Born in 1859, young Theodor Fahrner was a talented draftsman and designer who specialized in steel engraving at Pforzheim Art Academy.


 Innovative as well as highly creative, this pioneering industrialist joined the aesthetic reform movement known as Jugendstil, the German equivalent of Art Nouveau, and commissioned artists to create "modern" jewelry as the stock he had inherited from his father diminished.


 His intention was to raise the artistic quality of industrially or part-industrially made pieces to the level of art jewelry. Fahrner gave his designers great artistic freedom, as is revealed by the huge range of styles and techniques seen in the company's output.

Art Jewelry

 His ground-breaking use of the best artists to design mass-produced pieces w as welcomed within the famed artists' community of Darmstadt, which provided many of the company's enthusiastic designers.

In 1900, the company won a silver medal at the Paris World's Fair for its Kiinstlerschmurk (artists' jewelry). This international recognition helped establish the company as the main manufacturer of Jugendstil

artifacts in Germany.

Art Jewelry

 The "TF" trademark was introduced in 1901, and Fahrner began to export to England through Murrle, Bennet is: Co., an Anglo-German agency with offices in both countries.

Fahrner's work for Murrle, Bennet & Co. was often abstract, geometric, or organic, featuring elements such as stylized plants or birds. Pieces were marked with both companies' stamps.

Art Jewelry

In the early years of the 20th century, Fahrncr w as a leading figure in jewelry design, enabling, as he saw it, the "democratization of luxury."



 A selection of highly influential designers worked for the firm, including Georg Kleeman, Joseph Maria Olbrich, Franz Bocrcs, Rudolf Bosselt, Max Joseph Gradl, Hermann Haussler, Patriz Hubcr, Ferdinand Moraw e, and others. Identifying the work of each specific designer can be problematic, however, because of the wide range of objects made and the broad selection of materials with which they worked. In addition, all archived information was lost when the Fahrner factory w as bombed in 1945.



Art Jewelry

When Theodor Fahrner died in 1919, the company was sold to Gustav Braendle and renamed Gustav Bracndle-Theodor Fahrner Nachfolger (German for "successors"), using the "Fahrner Schmuck" trademark.

In 1922, Braendle's new collections featured enamel and marcasite jew elry, combined with semi-precious stones. The enameling, done in-house and often with a matte finish, gave a distinctive edge to the work. The company's fabulous Art Deco pieces brought it much acclaim.

Art Jewelry

The powerful geometric designs encapsulated the essence of the Jazz Age and the Art Deco movement, exemplified by the geometric creations of designers such as Viennese painter Anton Kling. These pieces often employed more expensive materials, typically marcasite, semi-precious stones, coral, and pearls, which lead to the high prices Fahrncr "art jewelry" commands today. Black enamel and green agate, combined with coral and onyx, became signature colors for Fahrncr and for the Art Deco period.

Braendle developed and launched Fahrner's filigree jewelry range in 1932, which became a hallmark of the company.

Art Jewelry

Unfortunately, German politics had an impact on the company's design freedom. More sumptuous pieces were exported to England and the United States, while the home market w as encouraged to seek plainer styles. In 1933, the sample design catalogues featured sketches for swastika designs. Wartime production was reduced and labor was transferred to technical products.

Art Jewelry

The company never regained its pre-war standing. Gustav Braendle died in 1952 and his son Hubert took over, leading the company through the 1950s, when it produced an enormous variety of designs and objects. The 1960s saw the introduction of modern silver pieces with semi-precious stones, as well as the "Antique Art" collection, featuring gold or silver pieces inspired by Egyptian and Roman designs. However, production ceased in 1979.


Art Jewelry

Fahrner's pieces arc well marked, either "TF" or "TF Germany" or "TF ORIGINAL." There are unmarked pieces on the market; however, the lack of mark will reduce the value of a piece by as much as 75 per cent. Pieces made for Murrle, Bennet & Co have both "TF" and "MBC" marks. Part2  theodor