The goldsmiths at the beginning of their journey (photo: Yehetz)
On the eve of World War II, about 50,000 Jews lived in the city of Chernivtsi in Romania (now Ukraine, and in the distant past a part of Austria), who actually made up over a third of its population.
The Romanians, led by the fascist ruler Ion Antonescu, occupied the city between July 5 and 6, 1941, and on the 11th of the month, Romanian civil law was applied in the district.
On July 30, the wearing of the yellow patch was enforced by a special order from the governor.
On the eve of the invasion, three residents of the city, Jews and good friends named Joseph Mardinger, Wilhelm Kerner and Michael Steinmetz, were busy studying silversmithing, which was very popular at the time in Europe.
The three finished their studies and not long after that they set up a small workshop and were already fantasizing how they were going to become a household name in Europe.
Yaakov Mardinger with the goldsmiths' products (photo: The Goldsmiths)
The war, and with it the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis, disrupts their plans as it does for many and leads the three to leave everything and flee for their lives.
Just before they separated, they agreed that if they managed to be saved, they would reunite in Israel and continue what they had started before the war in Israel.
Amazingly, the three managed to escape each in their own way, and in 1952 they met in a small apartment in Holon that was owned by one of them.
Just as they had planned, the survivors established the first workshop in that city, even though they called it "The Goldsmiths".
The period in Israel was the period of austerity, while the industry had been gaining ground in Europe for many years, in Israel there was no demand for luxury silverware: "The target audience they sold to was mainly the ultra-orthodox community and Jews from the USA, since the silverware was mainly holy utensils such as menorahs, candlesticks, but Also unique baskets," says Yaakov Merdinger, son and successor of Yosef Merdinger and who currently serves as the owner and chief artist of the Goldsmiths company.
Jacob worked in the workshop of his father and other partners and in fact learned the ancient trade when he was only seven years old: "I entered a management role in the company only after the death of Michael Steinmetz. I purchased for my father the parts from the other partners and thus the company became a family business."
Six months after Steinmetz's death, his father Yosef Merdinger also passed away: "I was 27 years old at the time and all the responsibility fell on me. I told my mother that I would manage the company for at least two or three years, and then I would sell it. But I quickly realized that it is very difficult to sell such a company , since it is founded on high-quality goldsmiths, and there are not many of these in the world," he shares about the beginning of his journey as the owner of the company.
Mardinger is a man of faith and a traditionalist, so he quickly realized that if this is how things are developing, then apparently "this is what God wants and this is what he is destined for in this life."
He chose to continue running the business and since then the rest is history.
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Yosef Mardinger 1947 (photo: Yehtz)
The years have passed and today the "Goldsmiths" brand is considered one of the leading silverware brands in the world: "When you learn goldsmithing from the age of 7, you become a professional and it's hard to compete with you. A company can own huge factories but, if you don't have the creativity and the passion for it, it doesn't help it By a lot. The Italians and the Portuguese, for example, have hundreds of years of goldsmithing, but I told myself that I was going to beat them."
Only 40 years or so since they established the first workshop, the goldsmiths opened their first commercial store in Bnei Brak.
Until then, the company sold mainly to dealers.
Today it owns 10 stores in Israel, and several more stores in the US, mainly in areas and neighborhoods where a large Jewish community lives. The company employs about 250 people, and it also owns a production plant in Turkey.
As mentioned for many years, the brand's customers came mainly from among the ultra-Orthodox community, over the years, new audiences joined, including a secular public from the mainstream.
For, the silverware has become versatile and in demand among many in our society, combining traditional designs with modern up-to-date touches.
The past period of austerity also helped to speak, many achieved financial capabilities, the tools that were previously limited to certain audiences, now became accessible to many.
The silverware became the products most recognized as luxury gifts with added value, therefore attracting audiences from all over the world, and surprisingly from Arab countries as well.
"Many delegations, including diplomats going on visits abroad, buy gifts from us to give to their hosts, even those who recently went to Dubai as part of the new collaborations.
But demand for our products also exists in Arab countries, there was even a rich Saudi woman who purchased silverware from us for her daughter's new house," he says.
Beautiful for my time.
The goldsmiths (Photo: Tzachi Kibenstein)
In light of the symbolism and the connection of the "Goldsmiths" brand to Jewish and Israeli culture and tradition, many times the same tools were purchased as gifts for the world's Jews as part of their visits to Israel, or outside of it.
"When the Pope came to visit Israel, he received a gift in the form of a prestigious silver plate with a painting of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and in fact this is the only gift he agreed to take a picture with of all the gifts he received. But not only that, presidents like Clinton and Trump also received gifts purchased for them. I think there People outside Israel have a greater appreciation for silverware than in Israel," he says excitedly.
As mentioned, maintaining relevance and public appreciation over so many years is no small thing, it requires hard work, being attentive to the audience's noises but also knowing how to preserve the uniqueness that has characterized the brand since its inception.
"Maintaining the name and prestige of the company for so many years is not an easy thing, we were indeed the ones who assimilated the design language of the silverware in Israel from the beginning of its establishment, but since then we produce every year 300-400 new products, constantly updating according to designs Contemporary on the one hand, on the other hand we maintain the traditional and timeless design that has characterized us from the beginning. We have designed thousands of products over the years and I remember them all."
Generations of talent.
The goldsmiths (Photo: Public Relations)
According to Mardinger, the company's plans are broad and do not stop here, also, the renewal will not only be in the area of silverware.
The company's intentions are to expand the network of stores and the diversification of tools and production materials, to produce tools from materials such as crystal and porcelain, which preserve their prestige.
"We intend to expand to more stores, but we still intend to maintain the values, the quality and the prestige of the brand. Also to expand to the entire field of table culture, to produce everything that a luxury hospitality table requires. "You have to remember, the Shabbat or holiday table symbolizes the sanctity and value of the
family , to bring such a gift to family members or friends is to respect your hosts," he says, "We love our work, we love to see the clientele coming to our parking lots again and again and we are thrilled by the new designs, we feel the embrace and appreciation it acquires for us and we cherish the It is very.
We have a real sense of mission and we are happy to be part of the symbols of this eternal nation,
And in conclusion, he of course returns to the roots, which began with the persecution of European Jews.
"The silverware helped the Jews during the Holocaust to maintain their identity, in fact many who managed to escape first took their silverware with them and others buried them in the fields and forests in the hope that they would return to take them. Some came to Israel without the silverware and after a few years other Jews came to Israel and gave them Many people come to us with old tools who want to renew them because apart from their high financial value, they have a great sentimental value for them. The tools tell the story of the exile of the Jewish people. Wherever they went, they produced silverware inspired by the local culture, so it is possible to identify According to the designs from when and where they were produced."
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