Bernhard H Mayer Pendants

Although its name may now conjure images of luxury Swiss timepieces — the minimalist Le Classique watch, the versatile Victor Chronograph — Bernhard H. Mayer began as a very different venture prior to earning its reputation for vintage luxury watches: a German coin mint. Now under the stewardship of its fourth generation, the company traces its roots back to the German town of Pforzheim, where, in 1871, the Mayer family began manufacturing tools for coin minting.

By the end of the 19th century, the coin minting endeavor at Bernhard H. Mayer had evolved to include the production of carved pocket-watch covers (thanks to the creative eye of Bernhard H. Mayer I) as well as coins and medals, including commemorative ones for the likes of Pope John Paul II, John F. Kennedy and Princess Diana and official coins for royal houses, central banks and governments. In 1936, the house was tapped to create the medals for the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in Germany. Ten years later, the family factory was destroyed by bombing during World War II.

Bernhard H. Mayer reopened its new doors in Pforzheim 16 years later and continued manufacturing coins and watch covers, but it wasn’t until the turn of the next century that the house would begin producing the kind of timepieces it makes today.

In the 1990s, the Mayer family began to manufacture gold coins for a limited collection of luxury coin watches made by Corum. (The Swiss watchmaker had long been in the coin watch business by then.) Not long afterward, in 2000, Bernhard H. Mayer partnered with the Swiss manufacturer Cimier. Mayer subsequently moved production of the brand’s watches to Switzerland, where it continues today under the eye of experienced craftsmen trained in the Swiss tradition (and working under the strict guidelines of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry).

Browse a collection of vintage Bernhard H. Mayer watches on 1stDibs.

Contemporary jewelry is inextricably linked with the moment in which it is created, frequently reflecting current social, cultural and political issues such as environmental consciousness, identity and sustainability. It’s informed by fashion trends, from the chokers of the 1990s to the large chain necklaces of the early 2000s.

Jewelry is one of the oldest forms of adornment. Lockets made of silver or gold have been treasured gifts for hundreds of years, for example, and charm bracelets, which have existed since prehistoric times, didn’t become especially popular until the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. For many centuries, fine jewelry was used primarily to express wealth or status through lavish materials. Then, in the 1960s, a concept known as the “critique of preciousness” emerged, with jewelers creating pieces that did not get their value from gemstones or precious metals. Instead, it was the jeweler’s artistic vision that was prized and elevated.

This shift still informs Contemporary jewelry being made by artists today. Whether they are using cheap, found materials and working with provocative geometric shapes or seeking out the rarest stones, they are imbuing their work with meaning through their skills, techniques and ideas. Innovative designers such as Elsa Peretti, who popularized sculptural sterling-silver jewelry for Tiffany Co., and David Yurman, who twisted metal into the simple yet striking Cable bracelet, have also influenced the direction of Contemporary jewelry’s forms and aesthetics.

Meanwhile, technological advancements like metal alloys and laser engraving have led to new possibilities in jewelry design. Now, edgy makers and brands as well as minimalist designers are pushing Contemporary jewelry forward into the 21st century.

Find a collection of Contemporary rings, earrings, necklaces and other jewelry on 1stDibs.