HERBERT CRUMMENAUER
GEMSTONE CUTTERS


    FAMILY RUN SINCE 1860

        
          A gemstone cutting firm in the change of times
         

It was the year 1860 . The gemstone industry at and around Idar-Oberstein was at its initial stage. Also Carl Crummenauer was moved by the spirit of this age, and we are grateful for his courage and talents, which made him found a first small, water-operated cutting mill in 1860 as the first site of the family firm.

Even in this first period there was already a specialisation on working with and dying natural agates, which was still plentiful at and around Idar-Oberstein then. Hugo Crummenauer, son of Carl Crummenauer, headed the firm till 1915. In 1926 the firm was then taken over by Paul Crummenauer, Hugo Crummenauer's eldest son. In 1951 he was followed by Herbert Crummenauer , son of Paul Crummenauer. In the year 1952 the firm moved to what was then considered a state-of-the-art gemstone-cutting firm with modern equipment and electricity as source of power. The range of products was expanded: almost fifty different kinds of gemstones were cut in continually changing new shapes. Parallel to this the treatment of agates was further improved: the colours gained more and more brilliance. Agate was cut into new shapes, posing a challenge to men and machinery: after all, agate is the hardest semi-precious stone (hardness 6.9 on the Mohs' scale) and thus very difficult to work with.

In 1967, Herbert Crummenauer became a Master Gemcutter . One year later a new gemstone-cutting factory was built. Agate cameo stones were then being produced on a larger scale, and the sophisticated manufacturing procedures were further improved. The first fully automated machinery was purchased. In 1987 Andreas Crummenauer , son of Herbert Crummenauer, entered the firm. Tradition was now combined with technology, and the most modern machines for working with precious stones were bought and also constructed. Production in series was taken up: top qualities finely executed were produced partly in manual labour, partly by means of automated or fully automated machines, while flexibility was always considered to be virtually important.

In 1993 Pia Crummenauer, the wife of Andreas Crummenauer, joined the firm. She is responsible for the business aspects of the firm. Today the team at the firm of Herbert Crummenauer consists of 15 members of staff and belongs to the leading enterprises in the cameo stone sector. Innovative developments and highest possible flexibility are still part of our everyday tradition. Nowadays we work with over 50 different kinds of stones combining manual craftsmanship and sophisticated technology in the process of creating a vast variety of shapes. Each complicated new shape we consider as a challenge! Our long years of experience in working with and treating of agates motivate us to keep on improving and perfecting our work. So today we usually manufacture agate cameo stones with two or more layers in varied colours and shapes. This secret traditional procedure, passed on from father to son in each generation, has been used to produce cameo stones of the very best quality, showing brilliant and fine colours, carved by expert hands.

Only very few families from Idar-Oberstein know this worldwide unique craft. Only about 3% of the agate occurrences are worth using for cameos. Therefore we purchase our rough stones direct in Brazil at the agate mines: so that we can guarantee that only the very best merchandise will leave our house. Only an expert's eye may discern which stone is really suitable as a cameo stone. This stone will then have to stand a complicate procedure of treatment lasting two or three months, before it will be shaped with the support of the latest technology. Then it will still have to pass a strict quality control in order to become a genuine "Spirit of Agate", a product which is only available from the House of HERBERT CRUMMENAUER EDELSTEINSCHLEIFEREI SEIT 1860.