Hugo Kohl - Hugo Kohl Fine Jewelry, USA

Hugo Kohl is president and curator of the Museum of American Jewelry Design & Manufacturing, owner of Hugo Kohl in Harrisonburg, VA and a highly skilled goldsmith specializing in contemporary designs from Industrial Age machines and traditional methods. Hugo earned his B.S. in finance and economics from James Madison University and formally apprenticed under a master goldsmith. He is a member of the board for The Providence Jewelry Museum and founder of HKmfg. This is his first presentation at the Santa Fe Symposium®.

Reviving the Art, Design and Technology of the Mid-1920s to Mid-1930s in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, to Manufacture Contemporary Filigree Jewelry

Reviving the Art, Design and Technology of the Mid-1920s to Mid-1930s in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, to Manufacture Contemporary Filigree Jewelry

This paper will show how early Industrial Age jewelry design and manufacturing technology can be contemporized and put back into economic production by leveraging modern tools and materials. I will explain how I have collected and curated early American Industrial Age jewelry hubs, dies and rolls which are now used to make filigree rings that can compete in today’s marketplace. The significance of early 20th century Providence, Rhode Island, jewelry design and how principles guiding early tool makers can be combined with contemporary molding and casting technology to bring Providence-style filigree ring designs back to the marketplace will be discussed. The competitive challenges inherent in 1920s−1930s filigree ring making will also be explained.