The history of Providence based manufacturer of gold-filled jewelry Louis Stern Co dates back to 1871. Noteworthy, a future prominent jewelry manufacturer Louis Stern (1858 – 1929) was only 13. The Louis Stern Company went through three wars and the reconstruction periods that followed, through four depressions, through good and bad times.

Born in New York city in 1858, Stern entered the jewelry business as an office boy for the Davidson Co, and later went on the road for that concern. After several years as a salesman, Louis Stern purchased Mr. Bennett’s interest in Young & Bennett and firm was known as Young & Stern.
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The history of the Marathon jewelry brand began in 1897 in Attleboro, Massachusetts. However, it was originally the Attleboro Manufacturing Company, founded in 1890 by eighteen-year-old Samuel Moritz Einstein (1872 – 1957) in partnership with sixteen-year-old Maurice Jay Baer (1874-1946).

The life story of Samuel Einstein is amazing, and shows him as a purposeful and courageous person who at the age of 13 independently came to America and achieved success.
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A native of Baltimore, Charles C. Stieff (1862 – 1923) founded The Stieff Co., sterling silver manufacturers, in 1892. His his only son Gideon N. Stieff joined the company and became its president in 1914, when his father relinquished the presidency of his firm.

On May 26, 1923, Charles C. Stieff, one of Baltimore’s most prominent businessmen, died suddenly at his desk in the Stieff Building at 17 N. Liberty St. He was 61 years old and died of heart disease.

Company records describe Stiff as “a natural leader who left behind him a legacy of positive action for American silver.” He was instrumental in enforcing the Maryland Silver Standards, which required all sterling silver to be at least 92.5 fine.
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Born in Pforzheim on August 4, 1859, Theodor Fahrner was the oldest of seven children and the only son of Theodor Fahrner Sr., and his wife Pauline. His father ran a ring factory in Pforzheim, where Theodor Fahrner Jr. apprenticed as an engraver and showed his extraordinary artistic abilities. Fahrner Sr. died in 1883, his son took over the firm and continued the family business.

Pforzheim city directory listed Theodor Fahrner’s firm in 1895 as “Ring Factory, pins, rings, brooches” located at Luisenstrasse 52. Noteworthy, Fahrner, Jr. commissioned free-lance artists to make modern jewelry designs who worked in the two great epochs of style, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. As a result, he soon gained the title of one of the most innovative and interesting jewelry producers in Europe.
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The history of manufacturer of watches and jewelry Knoll & Pregizer began in 1887 in Pforzheim, Germany, founded by Theodor Eberhard Friedrich Knoll (1851-1928) and Friedrich Pregizer (1882-1961). Knoll & Pregizer created jewelry from 1887 to 1975.

Each Knoll & Pregizer creation is a handcrafted sterling silver piece using the finest paste, imitation of diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. Sometimes KP jewelers used semi-precious stones such as amethyst and onyx. The maker’s mark on the reverse traditionally includes the crossed letters K and P. Knoll & Pregizer designs are inspired by Edwardian, French Belle Époque and Art Deco.
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