Brands

Jewelry brand Atelier Munsteiner

Aquamarine Don Pedro was found in Brazil in 1980.
Aquamarine Don Pedro was found in Brazil in 1980.

The founder of the jewelry brand Atelier Munsteiner is Bernd Munsteiner. The jewelry company was founded in 1966 after Bernd graduated from the Design Academy in Pforzheim. Even during his studies, young Bernd amazed teachers with his ingenuity in the decoration of precious stones. However, many were skeptical about his work outside the school walls.

Despite negative criticism in Germany, Munsteiner sold his first stones in Denmark in 1966, where modern jewelry was received with enthusiasm. In 1967, Bernd was honored with an invitation to the court jeweler from London, who was very enthusiastic about the Munsteiner stones. Bernd, in addition to cutting small stones for insertion into jewelry, also became interested in creating independent sculptures carved from stone.

Reflects the light inside the stone giving it amazing brightness and brilliance.
Reflects the light inside the stone giving it amazing brightness and brilliance.

The Munsteiner business was continued by son Tom and daughter-in-law Jutta.

The popularity of the Bernd Munsteiner house is largely due to the demand for modernism. In the creations of the designer – a clear geometry, precisely adjusted, intricately intersecting lines.

Munsteiner has a special love for transparent crystals – tourmaline, amethyst, citrine, fire opal, quartz and, of course, rock crystal. This is explained simply: on a transparent stone, all the accuracy and sophistication of cutting and polishing are visible.

Atelier Munsteiner green tourmaline rings with three multi colored tourmalines and a diamond with bicolor tourmaline.
Atelier Munsteiner green tourmaline rings with three multi colored tourmalines and a diamond with bicolor tourmaline.

Another feature of the brand’s style is the processing of not the entire stone, but only its parts. Carving is most often found in Atelier Munsteiner products in a limited plane. It can be several straight lines or one large zigzag. It is extremely rare to find circles or curls in the cut. Brand designers combine the incongruous – straight intersecting lines on rounded stones, lattice cut on multi-colored minerals. Today, this is no longer surprising, as it was in the 60s of the last century, but it certainly does not leave anyone indifferent.

The most famous work of the cutter, known not only to ardent collectors of stones and jewelry, but also to the mass audience, is the world’s largest cut aquamarine “Don Pedro”.

Necklace with a green tourmaline weighing 61.15 carats and a necklace with a large aquamarine.
Necklace with a green tourmaline weighing 61.15 carats and a necklace with a large aquamarine.

The largest (10,363 carats) aquamarine was cut by Bernd Munsteiner in 1980. Beryl crystal, which served as the source, weighed about 45 kilograms. It took four months only to study the structure of the mineral, assess its quality and choose the method of cutting and polishing.

Munsteiner, as always, chose the correct geometric shape for the future creation – an obelisk. Don Pedro was created for six months, during which the master engraved the surface of the stone and polished it to a crystal shine. The result was a unique piece of jewelry — a high obelisk, pointed upwards, with a needle engraving on the back wall, created in the image and likeness of the original imperfections of aquamarine. This method of processing makes the stone even more unique: it seems to sparkle from the inside with its intersecting faces.

Earrings with citrine.
Earrings with citrine.
Yellow gold ring with green tourmaline.
Yellow gold ring with green tourmaline.
Аtelier Munsteiner Ring ametrine 750 yellow gold.
Аtelier Munsteiner Ring ametrine 750 yellow gold.
Earrings with Tahitian pearls aquamarine platinum.
Earrings with Tahitian pearls aquamarine platinum.
Pendant with Munsteiner cut citrine surrounded by yellow gold orange sapphires and diamonds.
Pendant with Munsteiner cut citrine surrounded by yellow gold orange sapphires and diamonds.
Faceted tourmaline.
Faceted tourmaline.
Atelier Munsteiner Faceted rauchtopaz.
Rauchtopaz.
Atelier Munsteiner Faceted sapphire.
Faceted sapphire.
Atelier Munsteiner Faceted aquamarine.
Faceted aquamarine.
Atelier Munsteiner Bottle rock crystal amethyst 18 carat yellow gold.
Bottle rock crystal amethyst 18 carat yellow gold.