Wagner jeweler

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Juwelier Wagner Gesellschaft mbH

logo
legal form Limited Liability Company (GmbH)
founding 1917 (by Paul Wagner)
Seat Vienna , AustriaAustriaAustria 
management Hermann Gmeiner-Wagner
Branch retail trade
Website www.juwelier-wagner.at

Jeweler Wagner (short Wagner ) is an Austrian family-owned company with headquarters in Vienna . It was founded by Paul Wagner in 1917, taken over by his children after the Second World War and is now run by the third generation of Hermann Gmeiner-Wagner. Wagner specializes in jewelery and watches in the luxury segment and was the first specialist dealer for Rolex in Austria. The goldsmith's studio , the watch workshop and the office space are also located in the main building on Kärntner Straße in Vienna . The family business is considered the domestic market leader.

history

Portal of the parent company on Kärntner Strasse in Vienna

The beginning of the family business

The family company is named after Paul Wagner, who attended the imperial and royal watchmaking college in Karlstein an der Thaya at the beginning of the 20th century and passed the master craftsman's examination there. In 1917 he and his wife Luise opened a small shop on Wiedner Hauptstrasse in the immediate vicinity of the city center. In the early years, customer demand shifted from the classic pocket watch to the modern wristwatch , from which Wagner benefited significantly in the further course. The family company focused its products primarily on quality craftsmanship in order to ensure that the exact time is always and everywhere.

In the 1930s, Wagner tried to expand his premises. After Austria was annexed to the National Socialist German Reich , he was offered a shop in Vienna's Kärntner Strasse for rent. Before that, this was where the jeweler Medlinger, who emigrated to Panama with his wife in 1938 , was located. In September 1939, Wagner received the approval required for a takeover from the property traffic office. In April 1945, shortly before the invasion of the Allied Powers , the city center was looted and severely damaged, which also affected Wagner's jewelry store.

After the end of the Second World War , his children, Elfriede Gmeiner-Wagner and Paul Wagner jun., Took over the helm of the family business in 1949. The company founder Paul Wagner sen. and his wife Luise died in 1949 and 1950.

Second and third generation

Elfriede Gmeiner-Wagner and Paul Wagner jun. positioned the business as one of the leading jewelers in downtown Vienna . In 1954, the first Austrian specialist retailer secured a license from the Swiss watch manufacturer Rolex. In the decades that followed, other well-known brands added to the range, as did their own jewelery creations. One example of this is the “Solitaire” collection, which began in the company's early years. "Solitaire" is now a registered trademark of Juwelier Wagner. In 1981, after Paul Wagner junior left, the third generation, Hermann Gmeiner-Wagner, grandson of the company founder, joined the family company after other members of the closest family circle had different professional interests.

Under the direction of Hermann Gmeiner-Wagner, the family company developed a new corporate identity with a new signature at the center . The blue sapphire with engraved Wagner-W increases the recognizability of the products. In addition, the company once again relied on cooperation with internationally known brands, so that in the 1990s, for example, jewels and watches from the Italian luxury manufacturer Bulgari were added to the range. With the Ring of Honor of the Vienna State Opera (2004) and the Ring of Honor of the Vienna Burgtheater (2010), Juwelier Wagner highlighted its cultural commitment to the public.

Since 1990, Juwelier Wagner has grown from around 40 m 2 to currently over 2,000 m 2 . The premises also include goldsmiths, watchmakers and offices in downtown Vienna.

More recent developments

In 2004, strangers who were later caught on the Orient Express carried out a spectacular robbery on Wagner's shop on Kärntner Strasse. As a result, many Viennese jewelers increased their security measures. This was another reason for a comprehensive modernization of the parent company in the mid-2000s.

The new, open concept with a focus on a “feel-good atmosphere” for the customer was well received in the industry, both nationally and internationally, and was followed by numerous imitators. In the 2010s, the family business expanded its presence in Vienna to include a shop on Graben as well as a Rolex boutique (2011) and a Hublot boutique (2014).

structure

Hermann Gmeiner-Wagner, owner and grandson of the company founder

legal form

Juwelier Wagner is managed in the legal form of a limited liability company under Austrian law. Their subject matter includes in particular trading in jewelery and watches, working as a gold and silversmith and watchmaker.

Shareholder

The shareholders of Juwelier Wagner are Hermann Gmeiner-Wagner and the Gmeiner Gesellschaft. The latter is also fully owned by Hermann Gmeiner-Wagner, so that he indirectly controls 100% of the family business.

Managing directors

Hermann Gmeiner-Wagner is the company's managing director under commercial law . In the operating business his wife Catherine and daughter Antonia and son Felix are further engaged. There are also around 70 employees.

Products

The family business has a goldsmith's workshop and a watch workshop. The range includes jewelery and watches from internationally known brands such as Rolex , Hublot , Bulgari , Cartier , IWC , Jaeger-LeCoultre , Panerai , Chopard , Breitling , TAG Heuer , Longines and Tudor . It is complemented by its own jewelry collections such as “Solitaire”, “Masterpiece” or “Rivière”. These have their origins in the 1980s and have become increasingly important for the family company in recent decades. Wagner sees himself as an "expert in processing exceptional diamonds ".

Rings of Honor

Ring of Honor of the Vienna State Opera
Ring of honor of the Vienna Burgtheater

A special feature of the family business is the design of the Ring of Honor of the Vienna State Opera and the Ring of Honor of the Vienna Burgtheater . Both were created in the studio of Juwelier Wagner and are awarded at irregular intervals to one or more artists who have rendered outstanding services to the respective institution. Each honor ring awarded is personalized with an individual engraving of the name of the wearer.

Ring of Honor of the Vienna State Opera

It is an 18-carat yellow gold ring that depicts the exterior and interior of the Vienna State Opera. The facade of the building was incorporated in carnelian. In addition, there are the folds of the red stage curtain on the back. The inside of the ring shows the boxes including the presidential box.

Ring of honor of the Vienna Burgtheater

The ring is made of 18 carat white gold . The center is adorned with a rectangular red carnelian, which shows the facade of the Vienna Burgtheater on the outside. The folds of the stage curtain are engraved on the inside of the gem. The auditorium can be seen in detail on the inside of the ring rail.

Web links

Commons : Juwelier Wagner  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c 100 years House of Diamonds and Time . In: Courier . November 18, 2017, p. 70 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Teresa Schaur-Wünsch: "Luxury needs space" . In: The press . November 8, 2017, p. 14 ( diepresse.com [accessed April 2, 2020] special topic).
  3. ↑ Anja Beuning: Celebration of the Century . In: Watches & Jewels . December 2017, p. 20/21 ( uhrenundjuwelen.at [PDF; accessed on January 20, 2020]).
  4. ↑ a b c d e History of the House of Wagner. Juwelier Wagner, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  5. ↑ a b c Friedrich Ruhm: Master of the time . In: profit . December 13, 2017 ( gewinn.com [accessed January 20, 2020]).
  6. ↑ 100 years of precision . In: Terra Mater Magazine . 2020 ( terramatermagazin.com [accessed January 20, 2020]).
  7. ↑ Austria Press Agency (APA): From pocket to luxury watch: Juwelier Wagner celebrates its 100th birthday . In: Tyrolean daily newspaper . November 9, 2017 ( tt.com [accessed January 20, 2020]).
  8. ↑ Florian Wenninger, Jutta Fuchshuber (Ed.): So I am now someone else. The Jewish population of the Wieden 1938–1945. Nevertheless publisher, Vienna 2017, ISBN 978-3-99046-292-8 .
  9. ↑ From the diocese: 74 years ago the heart of Vienna burned with St. Stephen's Cathedral. Archdiocese of Vienna, April 16, 2019, accessed on April 1, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Austrian Patent Office: see.ip. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  11. ^ Jeweler coup: four perpetrators caught on the Orient Express . In: The press . February 3, 2004, p. 9 .
  12. ↑ Irene Brickner: A lightning break in two minutes . In: The Standard . February 2, 2004, p. 2 .
  13. ↑ Michael Simoner: Before buying jewelry: "Please ring the bell" . The Viennese jewelers react to the accumulation of attacks. In: The Standard . September 18, 2004, p. 10 .
  14. ↑ Thomas Kahler: New shop concept in the city of Vienna: Confident in style into the future . In: The economy . February 2, 2006 ( die-wirtschaft.at [accessed January 20, 2020]).
  15. ↑ A new gem in downtown Vienna . In: Falstaff . November 30, 2011 ( falstaff.at [accessed January 20, 2020]).
  16. ↑ Juwelier Wagner opens new luxury store . In: Vienna Online . November 21, 2014 ( vienna.at [accessed January 20, 2020]).
  17. ↑ Big Bang in Vienna: Hublot is in town . In: The Standard . October 30, 2014 ( derstandard.at [accessed January 20, 2020]).
  18. ↑ a b c Juwelier Wagner Gesellschaft mbH In: Trade information system Austria (GISA) . 2020 ( gisa.gv.at [accessed on March 10, 2020]).
  19. ↑ a b c Juwelier Wagner Gesellschaft mbH In: Commercial register of the Republic of Austria . 2020 ( firmenbuch.at [accessed on March 10, 2020]).
  20. ↑ Sachertorte for everyone . In: News . November 17, 2017, p. 119 .
  21. ↑ Isabella Schörghuber: Top-class things in Schwarzenberg . Juwelier Wagner celebrated together with Bulgari, Tiffany & Co. and Fabergé. In: WirtschaftsBlatt . October 14, 1997, p. 8 .
  22. ↑ Collection. Juwelier Wagner, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  23. ^ Elisabeth Werthmann: The economic crisis takes jeweler Wagner's sales increase . In: WirtschaftsBlatt . March 31, 2009, p. 7 .
  24. ^ A nice place to stay for jeweler Wagner . In: Courier . February 17, 2011, p. 6 .
  25. ↑ Honorary members are now ring bearers . In future, the State Opera will award rings designed by Juwelier Wagner in addition to the certificate. In: Wiener Zeitung . March 3, 2004, p. 26 .
  26. ↑ Teresa Schaur-Wünsch: The "Burg-Ring" is born: Michael Heltau first bearer. In: The press . October 21, 2010 ( diepresse.com [accessed January 20, 2020]).
  27. ↑ a b Ring of Honor of the Vienna State Opera. Juwelier Wagner, accessed January 20, 2020 .
  28. ↑ a b Ring of Honor of the Vienna Burgtheater. Juwelier Wagner, accessed on February 18, 2020 .