The Museum Of American Jewelry Design and Manufacturingis a living, working museum owned by Hugo Kohl. Before visiting, I had read where this is the only museum of its kind in the nation.
His factory and sales area have been at this location for 8-9 years. Two of the workers are from Ukraine and the third is from Belarus. All the jewelry for sale is made here and customers are both local and nationwide. The museum is one of the stops on the network of Virginia Artisan Trails. Harrisonburg is also home to James Madison University, where my wife Diane graduated when it was an all-girls college back in the early 1960’s.
Hugo Kohl, a second-generation German, was born into an artistic family and has spent much of his life in the studio. Upon discovering the Industrial Age Jewelry making legacy of Providence, Rhode Island he found a way to put his talents and passion to focused use. The Mayor of Providence awarded Hugo a Citizen Citation for his 20 years of jewelry work.
Hugo Kohl has combined a magnificent library of design, the ultimate goldsmiths shop and working factory. It is a unique place where the best aspects of design and making come together to make some of the most beautiful jewelry in the world.
The museum is located within the large historic Ice House building which has been repurposed for apartments, shops and restaurants. In the parking area is a salvaged Frick piece of equipment from those bygone icehouse days and some of the old icehouse doors have been saved.
As you enter the museum, you will encounter the jewelry that is for sale under glass cases and be greeted by Olga or Inesy. I was accompanied by my daughter Jennifer, who loves jewelry and was excited to visit and meet the workers.
Now a look into the factory side of the museum. Leaving the sales floor, down a short metal staircase, you have a view of the entire factory with a workbench worker off to the left. Machines on the factory floor included the Towle “Old Master” Bookmark machine designed in 1942 by the renowned silversmith Harold Nock to stamp out bookmarks in a single die cast using a “chop feed” method.
Towle Bookmark Machine
The wax casting machine uses a process that was originally used to make duplicates of gold, silver or bronze items as early as 3700 B.C. Later, plaster or rubber was used to make a mold for duplication.
Wax Casting Machine
A station and equipment for making money clips that at one time was quite popular. Back in the day, I knew many people that used these for their wads of paper money. The metal had to have “springiness” without being brittle. Kept in your pocket or purse, you could pull out the money clip and peel off your money notes to pay for an item, then fold the remainder back into your clip.
Ring Sizer
Tragic story about the Ostby Ring Sizing Machine. The O-B machine used a carousel plunger mechanism to stretch rings to the correct size. Engelhart Ostby at one time had the largest ring manufacturing company in the world employing over 1,400 workers and designed this machine. In 1912, he and his daughter traveled to Europe to study jewelry-making techniques, and their trip back home took them on the ill-fated Titanic. He put his daughter on the lifeboat, then he went down with the ship along with 1500 others. His body and contents were later found.
Screw Press (above), Drop Hammer (below)
The screw press was used by unskilled immigrant labor to make jewelry items, but was later replaced by drop hammer machines. Drop hammers used a 100 pound hammer that created 100 tons of force when dropped from 3 feet. These hammers were used to forge precious metals and later became more efficient when electric motors were added.
Heller Rolls
The Gorham Workshop Heller Rolls are on display and still used. Florentin Heller (1839-1904) was a sculptor and engraver who was recruited to work in America by Charles Tiffany in 1872. He left Tiffany in 1873 to work for Gorham Manufacturing and created decorative original carving rolls. The rolls were paired with a male (aluminum-bronze) and a female (steel) tool set to create designs onto sterling silver metal feeds.
An oddity that I noticed was a coin pay phone. Not sure why it was in the factory space, but I remember (not fondly) using pay phones up until my late 20’s. Especially after being drafted and on various Army locations, I had to have a big pocket full of coins to make phone calls to home. The operator would come on at intervals and tell me how much more to deposit, or my phone call would be terminated.
On display was the April 2024 Virginia Living magazine article featuring Hugo Kohl.
Various photos like equipment and stamps from the factory floor.
The museum is at 217 Liberty Street, Suite #103, Harrisonburg, Virginia. It is located within Hugo Kohl's workshop and offers $5 guided tours by Hugo himself Tuesday to Friday at 2:30 p.m. Each purchased ticket can be used as a voucher in Hugo Kohl's boutique or at other local businesses downtown.
This experience lasts about an hour and explains the origin of jewelry manufacturing in America. There is also a possibility of a tour on Saturdays from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. if you call ahead.
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