Ostsee-Schmuck

Ostsee-Schmuck GmbH is a mid-sized German jewellery manufacturer based in Ribnitz-Damgarten on the Baltic coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The company traces its origins to 1948, when the jewellery business of the Kramer family — which had produced silver jewellery decorated with Baltic amber under the trademarked name Fischlandschmuck since the 1930s — was expropriated and reorganised as the state-owned VEB Fischlandschmuck, later renamed VEB Ostsee-Schmuck. Under East German state ownership the operation grew into the country's most important producer and exporter of silver jewellery set with amber, at times employing several hundred people. After German reunification the business was privatised and re-founded in April 1992 as Ostsee-Schmuck GmbH. Today the company manufactures jewellery in gold and silver, characteristically combined with genuine Baltic amber, and also works with gemstones such as turquoise and with pearls. Its range covers pendants, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings, sold both through its own online shop and at its site in Ribnitz-Damgarten. The company describes itself as the largest jewellery producer in the new federal states of eastern Germany. Prices for its pieces are positioned in the accessible-to-mid market, with many silver-and-amber items in the tens of euros and gold pieces in the low hundreds. A distinctive feature of the business is its Schaumanufaktur (show manufactory) and "gläserne Produktion" (glass-walled production), which allow visitors to watch jewellery being made. The Damgarten site, opened in 2000, also houses an amber jewellery exhibition that the company presents as the largest of its kind in Europe. The firm emphasises handcraft tradition, transparency and durability, and states that around 24 employees — designers, technologists, goldsmiths, amber turners and commercial staff — work together to produce its jewellery. It sells primarily in Germany and Austria, offering free shipping and a 30-day returns policy.

The roots of Ostsee-Schmuck lie in a jewellery firm founded in Ribnitz in 1771 by the silversmith Georg Kramer jun., trading as G. Kramer jun. In 1932 the goldsmith master Walter Kramer, a descendant, began decorating silver jewellery with Baltic amber in maritime motifs. The success of this line led him to register the name Fischlandschmuck as a trademark in 1939; by then the company, operating as Fischland GmbH, employed around 100 people. After the Second World War the business was expropriated by the Soviet Military Administration on 1 July 1948. Walter Kramer fled to Lübeck and later settled in Travemünde to continue the business there. The nationalised operation initially traded as VEB Fischlandschmuck, but after losing a legal dispute it was obliged to change its name to VEB Ostsee-Schmuck. During the 1960s it became the largest supplier and manufacturer of amber and silver jewellery in East Germany, and was organisationally part of the VEB Kombinat Musikinstrumente Markneukirchen/Klingenthal until 1990. Its pieces were stamped with a stylised fish, in contrast to the Fischlandschmuck mark of the letters GK in a Gothic window. Because the Soviet Union consumed much of the amber supply itself, a raw-material shortage arose in the early 1970s. In 1974 VEB Ostsee-Schmuck placed newspaper advertisements calling on East German citizens to send amber to the company. As deliveries from the Bitterfeld area increased noticeably, the firm commissioned geologists to search for amber deposits around the open-cast lignite mines near Bitterfeld. Rich finds soon led to the Goitsche pit being used for amber extraction. In April 1992, as part of privatisation, the manufacturer was reorganised as Ostsee-Schmuck GmbH. The company continued to produce amber-decorated jewellery in gold and silver and describes itself as the largest jewellery producer in the new federal states. On 9 June 2000 a new company site was opened in Damgarten, housing a show manufactory and an amber jewellery exhibition. The company's own account dates its manufactory tradition to 1948 and describes its present-day operation as a Schaumanufaktur with glass-walled production, employing around 24 staff across design, technology, goldsmithing, amber turning and administration. The historic Fischlandschmuck name refers today not to the products of the later VEB Ostsee-Schmuck but to the jewellery made by G. Kramer jun., which Walter Kramer ran in Ribnitz until 1948 and afterwards in Travemünde. Since 2009 the patent rights to the name have been held by an amber gallery in Ribnitz. Fischlandschmuck pieces are characterised by one or more natural ambers in handmade silver settings with partly sculptural, filigree maritime motifs such as fish, starfish, anchors or sailing ships, and included rings, bracelets, necklaces, brooches as well as spoons, serving forks, cake servers and napkin rings. The appliqués were soldered on by hand, unlike Ostsee-Schmuck products, which were usually only cast, and the Kramer workshop's work is distinguished by higher-quality craftsmanship from the mass production of the East German state operation.

• 2009

  Patent rights to the Fischlandschmuck name are held by an amber gallery in Ribnitz.

• 2000

  On 9 June a new company site opens in Damgarten, housing a show manufactory and an amber jewellery exhibition.

• 1992

  In April the manufacturer is reorganised as Ostsee-Schmuck GmbH as part of privatisation.

• 1974

  Facing an amber shortage, VEB Ostsee-Schmuck advertises in newspapers asking East German citizens to send amber; finds near Bitterfeld lead to amber extraction at the Goitsche pit.

• 1960

  During the 1960s the operation becomes the largest supplier and manufacturer of amber and silver jewellery in East Germany.

• 1948

  On 1 July the business is expropriated by the Soviet Military Administration; it initially trades as VEB Fischlandschmuck, later renamed VEB Ostsee-Schmuck.

• 1939

  Walter Kramer registers the name Fischlandschmuck as a trademark; the company, as Fischland GmbH, employs around 100 people.

• 1932

  Goldsmith master Walter Kramer begins decorating silver jewellery with Baltic amber in maritime motifs.

• 1771

  Silversmith Georg Kramer jun. founds the firm G. Kramer jun. in Ribnitz.

Handcrafted Baltic amber jewellery from a traditional manufactory, positioned as transparent, durable and mid-market, with an experiential show-manufactory and exhibition.

• Pendant Silver 925/000, "Windflüchter", amber

• Necklace with pendant Silver 925/000, "Engel", amber (length selectable)

• Necklace with pendant Sun, Silver 925/000, amber (length selectable)

• Necklace with pendant Silver 925/000, Elfe, amber (length selectable)

• Stud earrings 7 mm set, Silver 925/000, amber

• Ear pendants Silver 925/000, amber

• Pendant Gold 333/000, turquoise blossom motif 6 mm

1. 1Schaumanufaktur & Shop in Ribnitz-Damgarten – Ostsee-Schmuckostseeschmuck.de
2. 2Über uns | Handwerk mit Tradition und Haltung – Ostsee-Schmuckostseeschmuck.de
3. 3Geschichte der Manufaktur | Ostsee-Schmuck seit 1948ostseeschmuck.de
4. 4Gold Anhänger 333/000 mit Türkis Blütenmotiv 6 mm – Ostsee-Schmuckostseeschmuck.de
5. 5Ostsee-Schmuck – Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6Ostsee-Schmuck – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org