Noble craftsmanship, special pieces – the jewelry workshop Schipflinger

The yellow gold bangle is a temptation for people who love the extravagant, and the white gold ring with variable plastic elements is a luxurious sculpture in miniature. No question, the special pieces that Walter Schipflinger pulls out of the vault are not for "modest" minds. But the Schipflinger jewelry workshop in Innsbruck's old town offers high-quality jewelry for every wearer and for every taste.

The traditional workshop has specialized in the production of individual pieces of jewelry and in reworking according to the wishes of the clientele. In doing so, company founder Walter, his children Martina and Richard Schipflinger uphold traditional craftsmanship - but also work with the most modern technical equipment.

The jewelry workshop extends over three floors, each connected by a spiral staircase: salesroom, office and meeting rooms, then on the third floor the "holy of holies", the workshop. Here, traditional equipment such as the spindle press and draw bench stand next to the microscope and engraving laser. Most of the work still takes place at the workbench. Each goldsmith has his own place, his own tools, and each place has a central element: the filing nail. This is a wedge-shaped block of wood that protrudes from the workbench. It is used for filing and sanding, bending and soldering. The more worn the wedge, the more industrious the goldsmith, it is said.

Walter Schipflinger founded the company in Hötting in 1980, and two years later he opened a studio in Innstraße. In 1996, Schipflinger took over the premises in Schlossergasse.

He passed on his passion to his children. All three learned the craft from him. Martina, after several years in Italy and Spain, passed the master craftsman's examination in Germany. Richard attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, sculpture section and specialized here in decorative sculptures. One daughter now lives in France.

When their father retired in 2010, Martina and Richard Schipflinger took over the business. "We never had any pressure in this regard. Our father gave us every freedom," emphasizes Martina Schipflinger. Nevertheless, he is glad that the craft business remains in the family.

Since "retiring," Walter Schipflinger has been intensively involved with techniques that have long fallen by the wayside, such as enameling. And he continues to provide his children with advice and support. It is a blessing that he is still in top shape in his old age, Schipflinger emphasizes. Because this work requires a steady hand, a clear head and excellent eyesight, precision, patience and, of course, a fair amount of creativity.

The Schipflinger family only sells their own creations in their store, so they do not offer ready-made products. In their designs, the goldsmiths set themselves no limits. Whether wood, metal or plastics, Martina and Richard Schipflinger use a wide variety of materials for their jewelry.

However, their origin is very important to them, emphasizes Walter Schipflinger. The mining of precious metals and gemstones is unfortunately associated with many negative aspects. Child labor, overexploitation of nature, and environmental pollution are major issues here. For this reason, the Schipflinger jewelry workshop works with recycled precious metals from certified companies.

Like copper, gold can be melted down and reused over and over again - without losing quality. Just how valuable precious metals are can be seen in the fact that every last grain is collected in the workshop. The collected material is cleaned and remelted by certified companies. "We melt small, pure quantities ourselves," says Schipflinger.

For example, Walter Schipflinger made a miniature racing bike to scale out of gold and set the rims with blue sapphires, or created a golden whistle and set it with precious stones. An impressive selection of his own creations can be admired in the display of the jewelry store. Some, however, remain in family possession. They are associated with special memories, special awards.

The gold bangle mentioned at the beginning of this article received the recognition of the State Prize. The design was by Richard Schipflinger; the piece of jewelry was manufactured by Walter Schipflinger. For "In and out", the sculpture formed into a ring, there was the FEJA, the First European Jewellery Award in 2000. This weighty piece is also a creation of Richard Schipflinger.

Especially exclusive is the two-finger ring "The Treasure of the Octopus", a "high carat" set with black diamonds and white diamonds, each stone individually set. Result of countless hours of work at the workbench.

Made in the traditional way completely by hand, the ring shows itself as a masterpiece of the goldsmith's art.

In the old town and in Maria-Theresien-Strasse alone, there are numerous jewelry workshops rich in tradition - the Norz goldsmith 's shop, founded in 1764, is the oldest. Blog posts about special craft businesses can be found here or here, for example. A list of stores and stores in Innsbruck and the surrounding area can be found at innsbruck.info

Contact

Schmuckwerkstätte Schipflinger
Schlossergasse 3
A-6020 Innsbruck
Austria

Phone +43 512 582220

Mail info@schipflinger.gold

www.schipflinger.at

Photos, unless otherwise stated: © Susanne Gurschler