Jewellery town
Pforzheim
Pforzheim, Germany
Known as the Goldstadt (gold town): its jewellery industry began in 1767 and grew into Germany's main jewellery and watch-making centre. Today it has jewellery makers, design and technical schools, and a museum devoted to the history of jewellery.
Pforzheim, on the northern edge of the Black Forest, is Germany's "Goldstadt". Its jewellery and watch industry began in 1767, when Margrave Karl Friedrich of Baden granted a privilege for a watch and jewellery factory, and grew into the largest in Germany, known for mass-produced gold jewellery and watch cases.
What you find
Jewellery and watch manufacturers, precious-metal refiners, suppliers of tools and findings, a university faculty of design with a renowned jewellery department and a goldsmiths' school, and the Schmuckmuseum, one of the few museums anywhere devoted entirely to jewellery, from antiquity to today.
How it works
Manufacturers supply the trade. For visitors, the Schmuckmuseum, the technical museum of the jewellery and watch industry, and the Goldstadt "Schmuckwelten" give the best view of the craft.
Visiting the Schmuckmuseum
- Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00, and on public holidays except Mondays and Tuesdays, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve (as published by the museum; check before you go).
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