MARKET INTELLIGENCE 市场情报 JNA September/October 2024 | 81 gemstones were being shipped home, mostly as ballast on vessels that had offloaded cargo in Brazil. Nearly 200 years later, it is this inherent innovative mindset, passion and creativity that still drive the town’s industry. “The extraordinary expertise and skill of the companies in Idar-Oberstein primarily serve demand for fine one-of-akind gemstones in consumer markets worldwide,” explained Constantin Wild, managing director of Constantin Wild GmbH & Co KG – a company founded by Constantin's greatgrandfather in 1847. Constantin is the 10th generation owner and gem specialist who continues to imbue passion and innovation into Constantin Wild's creations. “Companies here leverage generational dedication and deep knowledge to meet the global demand for unique gemstones,” he noted. Paraiba tourmaline, mandarin garnet, imperial topaz, aquamarine and a variety of sapphires are his company’s current focus. Many German lapidarists recognise collaboration as a key to staying competitive. In 2001, two prominent familyrun businesses merged to create a joint venture, Wild & Petsch GmbH, in Kirschweiler with precision cutting as its main strength. “We have the capability to facet gemstones with tolerances as low as 0.02mm,” company co-owner Thomas Petsch said. “We adopted new technologies from various industries and these ‘trade secrets’ steeped in technique and experience help provide consistency in colour, cut and size to meet our clients’ requirements.” Wild & Petsch’s main varieties are sapphire, ruby, Paraiba tourmaline, beryl, aquamarine, peridot, tsavorite garnet and fine quartz. Gemstone hunts The pioneering spirit of the 19th century gemstone adventurers is embodied in Hans-Jürgen Henn of Henn GmbH who since the early 1960s has been travelling the world searching for special material. His adventures started in the gem fields in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka. MUNSTEINER LEGACY In a light-filled studio in nearby Stipshausen, Bernd Munsteiner invented the fantasy cut – concave cuts made on the back of gemstones – and pioneered a new movement in the way gemstones are shaped and cut. In an interview a few weeks before he passed away on June 6, 2024, he shared that the driving passion of his artistic life was to “discover the aura of each gemstone crystal and make visible the internal life and natural beauty hiding within.” He learned these skills from his father, Viktor, before going to art school in Pforzheim to study sculpture and painting. On his return in the 1970s, he built the studio with the help of an architect friend. From there, he created hundreds of gemstone wonders that are in museums around the world or treasures of private collectors. Many extraordinary gemstones came to him in serendipitous ways, but the one that marked the pinnacle of his creations is Dom Pedro, a 35cm-tall, 10,363-carat aquamarine carving that is now in the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection in Washington DC. Dom Pedro was the result of cooperation between him and HansJürgen Henn of Henn GmbH who discovered the 52cm-tall, 26-kilogram aquamarine rough on a visit to Brazil. “It was my greatest challenge. The rough sat in my studio for three months while I obsessed about it, making hundreds of sketches and waiting for the knock of inspiration. It came when I turned the piece upside down in a gesture that connected it to the earth. It took one year to create the final piece,” Munsteiner said in the interview. The skill of the artist passes from father to son. Bernd’s son, Tom, created his own work for a few decades while Tom’s wife, Jutta, a jewellery artist from Hermeskeil who trained as a goldsmith in Trier, set them into jewellery. Tom passed away in December 2023. Now Tom’s son, Philipp, who learned from both father and grandfather, creates his own pieces and recently won a German gemstone and jewellery award in the young talent category for his Dragon Egg cut. The latest version is a collaboration between Jutta and Philipp: A 67.03carat beryl Dragon Egg set in yellow gold. “Philipp and I will continue to work with all our passion to keep the Munsteiner’s pioneering spirit of innovation and creativity alive,” Jutta affirmed. Dragon Egg necklace with a 67.03-carat beryl cut by Philipp Munsteiner and set into a yellow gold necklace by Jutta Munsteiner 龙蛋项链，镶嵌由Philipp Munsteiner切割的67.03克拉绿柱石，并 由Jutta Munsteiner镶嵌在黄金项链上 Hans-Jürgen Henn of Henn GmbH
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