David Adamson Designer Jewelry

We Are Proud To Offer Vintage Filigree Jewelry Made From The Original Hubs, Dies and Molds By Hugo A. Kohl, III

Click On The Picture to See How This All Came About (it's a fascinating story)



A Message From Hugo A. Kohl, III

CJD is committed to preserving and producing some of the most interesting jewelry designs ever conceived. We have put together a collection of hubs, dies and rolls that were used to die strike jewelry during the industrial age. This collection is very broad and deep in its sheer volume (over 3,000 pieces) as well as in its design content.

While apprenticing in the jewelry trade, I have had the opportunity to work under the guidance of several very talented master goldsmiths, one of whom specialized in antique, estate and vintage jewelry. Working with and repairing these antique pieces, I developed a great appreciation for the quality of design and manufacturing inherent in certain period pieces. Years later I opened my own Trade shop.

Looking for a bargain on some used casting equipment, I was rummaging around in an old warehouse and I watched some workers dumping broken boxes of steel parts into a dump truck to be sold for scrap metal. One of the boxes broke open and pieces spilled out on the ground. The truck pulled out and I looked at what had spilled. While I didn’t have a true understanding of what I was looking at I did realize that it contained very important jewelry designs. I quickly excused myself and hopped in my car and sped after the dump truck. I flagged the driver at a stop light and convinced him to sell me some of the “scrap” on the back of the truck and then arranged to ship it home. It took almost a year of researching and picking the brains of numerous folks in the jewelry industry before I started to fully understand what I had stumbled across and how it was used. I learned that the pieces I had saved from the scrap yard were exquisitely crafted hubs, blocks of steel with intricate designs hand-carved into the top surface dating back to the 1800s. In any case, I was hooked on the subject, fascinated by the workmanship and determined to find and collect every hub, die and roll I could get my hands on, while also figuring out how to put versions of these designs back into production.

Contained within this collection are Filigree Rings, Signet Rings, Pins, Pendants, Lavaliers, Earrings, Bracelets, Baby Pins, Cufflinks, Militaria, Watch Cases, Lockets, Religious Medallions, Fantasy Figures and Wedding Bands. There are Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco & Retro Art Designs periods represented. The collection is stored in engraved steel blocks and rolls that represent the art of dimensional hand engraving at it’s zenith. The collection started with a few hundred pieces over 10 years ago and has grown to over 3,000 designs at present. There have been numerous manufacturing experiments. Many of them didn’t work, a few of them did. In any case a number of these designs have been put into production. Hopefully lots more are to follow. It is a large undertaking that involves combining older technologies with newer techniques as well as my version of how these pieces should be presented.

I hope you enjoy these hubs, dies, rolls and what I have derived from them as much as I do.

Sincerely yours,

Hugo A. Kohl, III

All of these designs are available in Yellow Gold, White Gold, Rose Gold, Platinum and Silver.  There are thousands of Ring, Pendant, Lavalier, Earring and Bracelet designs available, these are just a small sample.