Germany enters the global luxury world
(Published in Europa Star in Spring 2001)

The German jewellery industry has always had a reputation for quality, design and technical innovation. Now the companies are going global as brand names. But also the German consumers open up to international jewellery making.

The German jewellery industry has a long-standing reputation within the international jewellery world. Typical for Germany is the diversity of the different sectors within the industry. On one side there is the fully industrialised part, on the other side you will find companies who still work in the true sense of manufacturing, employing the traditional techniques of jewellery making. Yet another part is the large and extended group of designers and independent goldsmiths. This list is not complete without mentioning the large gem and pearl business well known to members of the business all over the world.

According to Dr. Stefan Hencke, former manager of the German jewellery and watches marketing association, German jewellery producers are world wide renowned primarily for their outstanding manufacturing quality. Specially in highly developed markets German producers belong to the suppliers for up-market, high quality goods. In comparison with producers from Asia or Italy they might not always be the ones to offer the lowest prices, but their clients prefer to pay a premium because they appreciate the reliability of their German partners and their work.

Secondly the German producers have a reputation for their design. From the very classic to the ultra-modern, German design has an instantly recognisable quality. Whereas the contemporary classics address an international audience, the highly avant-garde German style certainly finds recognition internationally, but does not always meet the taste of a wider consumer base. However an international elite of the architectural and graphic arts world loves the highly stylised and intellectual approach of this design direction. A strong impact on this design-notion of German jewellery have the highly individual German jewellery designers and goldsmiths. They have started to attend international fairs several years ago and have ever since surprised and inspired the jewellery world with their work that is on the borderline of handicraft, art and innovation. Some of them are members of groups which attend fairs together in groups, such as “Gruppe Design” and “Aspects”. Their constant presence on fairs and in the trade press has certainly helped to shape the image of creativity and design quality in German jewellery making world wide.

The third aspect which is famous for the German industry is the technical innovation in German manufacturing. Besides their mastery in traditional techniques they are famous for new and innovative approaches in jewellery making. The tension ring by Niessing is probably the best known example for this kind of innovation. The skilful use of platinum is another strong point of German manufacturing. This goes back to the initiative of the German Platinum Guild which was founded in 1976. Their unceasing efforts in promoting platinum as a jewellery metal to both consumers and within the industry led to continuously growing market share of platinum jewellery in Germany. Their original strategy to give platinum jewellery a distinctive contemporary look lead manufacturers to experiment both on technical and design level in order to find a new and fresh look for the precious metal.

Where quality, design and technical innovation meet, German jewellery has an immediate international impact. One example of a continuously expanding career and growing international recognition is Angela Huber. Her completely new and innovative ring designs bring the best of all Germany’s strong points together. Jewellers and galleries world wide show her work and her rings are presented in several museum collections.

The Future in the Global Business

Talking to German jewellery manufacturers makes clear, that most of them are heading towards the future with a global view. Whereas in the past many manufacturer have been mostly serving their own home market, they are more and more expanding their export activities. And where they have been selling their products quietly as a manufacturer, they are now marketing their creations proudly under their own name. Some companies have been working in this line for quite some time, for many companies this change is a recent development.

Christian Bauer, one of the leading producers of wedding bands and jewellery, has experienced a strong expansion of their export business in the course of this year. Their export business, says export manager Helmut Müller, has grown to roughly 50% of their total business. Similar comments come from almost all the leading jewellery producers in Germany. The primary export markets for German jewellery are highly developed countries. The USA, Japan, Switzerland, countries within the EU, Middle East and Scandinavia are major customers of jewellery made in Germany. Those countries have the affluent customers, who appreciate high quality jewellery and who recognise that there is a price to pay for this.

Reflecting the international trend of white metals, German manufacturers have also experienced a strong demand in this direction. However, asked about their best-selling items of the past year, the answers were surprisingly varied. Isabelle Mössner, owner of Isabelle Fa and famous for her outstanding chains, has been most successful with a combination of platinum and rose gold. She says: “We have been selling exclusive designs in this combination on high price levels”. Michael Zobel, famous jewellery designer from Konstanz, says: “We made a whole collection in silver and platinum with diamonds and rose quartz and we are sold out, all the pieces are gone”. The white trend was also dominant for Herbstrith, but not only. Their outstanding fine gold chains sold just as well. Brigitte Härdt says: “Our fine gold chains are extraordinary and meet the growing demand for the warm colours in jewellery.” Asked which types of chains were the strongest at the moment, she says: “ The classic types are high in demand, they have in fact never really been out, but customers demand nowadays a great amount of attention in details. A normal clasp just would not do any more. It must something beautiful and easy-to-handle at the same time. We put a lot of effort in our clasps”.

According to Thomas Schubert from Breuning, the yellow gold had at least for his customers never been out. Specially the German market always demanded a larger proportion of yellow gold, white gold was not as strong as it was in other international markets. Speaking to individual designers there seems to be a similarity. Georg Spreng, famous for his avant-garde designs, has always worked mostly in yellow gold. The same applies for Angela Hübel.

A common pattern for many jewellery producers seem to be that their customers demand more and more exclusive and up-market products. Schoeffel, leading name in pearls, notices a strong trend towards higher price levels. ... Kapelle, sales manager says: “We are clearly selling less pieces, but more expensive ones. There is a strong trend towards luxury. Specially south sea and Tahitian cultured pearls are high in demand.” Helmut Müller from Christian Bauer notices, that “price levels are going higher, now even men want to wear a wedding band with a diamond”. Diamonds are in many collections still a leading theme. At the same time the demand for colour in jewellery seems to be on the rise. At Hans D. Krieger, known for their high-end jewellery, colour has been in rising demand during the year 2000.

German Consumers

Germany takes a special position within continental Europe. With a population of 82 mio it is the largest market. The average spending power of DM 5’114 (1998) per household and month is relatively high in international comparison. The market volume for jewellery comes to a total of 7.6 billion DM (1998).

Looking back a few years, German consumers had a reputation to have a very minimal jewellery taste, not too colourful, not too extravagant. Jewellery was looked at with a somewhat serious eye, anything too playful or too fancy did not sell well to the German audience. Of course there was a difference from the north to the south. Munich with its proximity to Italy is known to have a rather different taste than for example Hamburg.

But with the general change towards a more optimistic economical climate and the complete change in fashion from the minimalist 90’s to the ladylike, dressed-up and glamorous year 2000, German consumers seem to look at jewellery in a new way. Jeweller Andreas Freisfeld from Münster says: “Ten years ago Germany opened its borders to the East, now German jewellery customers open their mind to the West. They are interested in the glamorous style, that is typical for international brands. And they love red, pink and rose. Something they have never bought in the past.” His year has been very successful, also on the Internet. As a pioneer he started his website already five years ago. 2000 finally brought his efforts to a fruitful level. Customers from all over the world have not only been visiting his site but also buying on-line. He is not the only one with a big smile at the end of 2000. Many of the designers and goldsmiths who have gradually developed their collections with a distinctive look are very satisfied. Christian Bauer introduced this year the Italian brand Damiani in Germany and was overwhelmed by the positive response of the public. A clear product identity and image and strong brand name seems to be the recipe for success.