Jürg Stadelmann has been fascinated by horses since his childhood. So it is not surprising that as a young goldsmith in the 1970s, he was already putting his ideas of horse jewelry into practice: the snaffles of the miniature horse paddock were the perfect model for a piece of jewelry in silver or gold. The goldsmiths were generally inspired by equestrian sports and working with animals, for example by the classic chin chain. Jürg Stadelmann developed this idea further and created beautiful bracelets from simple water snaffles (initially in silver, later also in yellow gold). They nestle smoothly on the wrists of customers.
Rings, necklaces and especially brooches were worn 50 years ago. The horse heads were chiseled by hand in our workshop, a very elaborate process that requires a great deal of skill. The unique pieces were then forged in sparkling precious metal before being decorated with matching gemstones to create one-of-a-kind pieces. In the 80s and 90s, one or two horse heads served as models for advertisements in high-end equestrian magazines.
Inspired by his imagination, he came up with more ideas: The leather whip with silver pommel and personal monogram became an elegant gift for horse lovers. These sporty and noble accessories from Stadelmann 1972 were also the basic idea for the FEI World Cup prize for qualifying winners; for many years we were allowed to make a silver whip on a wooden board with engraving for the winners.
The highlight in the history of the equestrian collection was the commission to create the then new "Volvo World Cup" (now the "Longines FEI Jumping World Cup"). Jürg Stadelmann received the commission directly from the FEI.
"The large rock crystal should embody the world. Of course, it had to be able to be lifted up and filled with champagne," says Jürg Stadelmann, enthusiastically describing the design of the trophy. The goldsmith was able to travel to the first World Cup Final in Gothenburg (SWE) in 1979 and present the trophy to the winner at the time, Hugo Simon (AUT). This FEI trophy is still the most coveted trophy in show jumping today and returns to us in Bern every year for the engraving of the winner.
In 1994, we took part in the CSI-W Geneva as an exhibitor for the first time. For over 25 years, we have been delighted to be part of this wonderful event and to meet our loyal, equestrian-enthusiastic customers. Over the years, international riders and horse owners have of course also become customers of our Bernese family boutique.
Due to the further development of the international horse show, the current requirements of the event and those of Stadelmann 1972 will unfortunately no longer fit together from 2022. For this reason, we have suspended our participation in the show for the time being.
If you have any questions about our current horse jewelry creations, we will be happy to provide you with further information.
In our Trouvaille you will find used jewelry as well as liquidation goods from suppliers at interesting prices. You also have the opportunity to sell your jewelry on consignment. We are also happy to provide you with other information about our store at the back of Marktgasse 29.
