It’s time.
Koch & Bergfeld history
Anyone who wants to know where they’d like to go, needs to know where they come from. For great things can arise between yesterday and tomorrow.
History
1829
In 1829, Gottfried Koch opened the Bremen Gold and Silversmiths workshop, which together with Ludwig Bergfeld, he operated under the name of Koch & Bergfeld.
1865
36 years later, in 1865, the second generation of the company’s management enlarged the purely craft operation and expanded the serial production methods.
1885
The success of the company led to the construction of a production facility in 1885, which covered 700 square meters of factory space and where 100 employees were now engaged.
1910
In 1910, the business, which now had over 600 employees, was supplemented by a large rolling mill for the production of Alpacca sheet silver, which forms the basic material for silver-plated cutlery. This gave rise to a modern electroplating set-up for the silver plating of cutlery and tableware.
1914
By 1914, Koch & Bergfeld was exporting into Tsarist Russia, Austria, Hungary, Colombia, Venezuela, and Scandinavia.
1928
In later years, the war and post-war period would place the company in a difficult position – in 1928, the number of employees sank to 90 and the Bergfeld family left the business.
1965
Meanwhile, in 1965, the fifth generation Dr. Gottfried Koch took over management of the company. He again placed the artisan tradition of the production of silver tableware (hollow ware items) back into the foreground.
1989
In 1989, the Villeroy & Boch group took over the silver manufactory.
1994
In 1994, the production of silver tableware (hollow) was outsourced. The Kiel-based jeweller, Klaus Hansen, took over the silversmiths’ division with all the employees, and commenced the distribution of high-quality hollow ware under the name of HANSEN Koch & Bergfeld.
2005
in 2005, Florian Blume from the Hildesheimer dynasty of silversmiths took over the silversmiths. The company has been led by him at a new location in Bremen’s Überseestadt ever since, where he has continued both new orientations and proven craftsmanship.
2013
In 2013, trophies for various events have increasingly become the focal point of the manufactory. But the goldsmiths, with their jewellery division and changing exhibitions also characterise the company’s image.
2017
In 2017, the manufacturing rights to “HANSEN Silver” were transferred to the Koch & Bergfeld silver manufactory. The German Football Association transferred to the manufactory the sole rights for the production of replicas and duplicates of their famous trophies.
