Moscow Jewelry Factory
The unique school of Russian jewelry-making formed over thousands of years from the 9th to the 20th centuries. The main recipient of the tradition of well-known Russian masters today is the Moscow Jewelry Factory, creating its own history since 1923.
The name and structure of the organization has changed, but the main component of the jewelry cooperative - its masters - has stayed the same. Several famous dynasties of hereditary jewelers worked at the Moscow Jewelry Factory and its predecessors in the 20th century.
Jewelry Factory (MYuZ)
- 1923Moscow Jewelry
Association - 1926Mostorg
- 1930Moscow Jewelry
Cooperatve - 1960Moscow Jewelry
Factory - Present
After the events of 1917, the new government faced a serious problem: preserving Russia’s cultural heritage in the transition to a new form of government. Undoubtedly, the jewelry sector received particular attention.
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M. Firsov
b. 1889 One of the founders of the Moscow Jewelry cooperative, which was transformed into the Moscow Jewelry Factory in 1960. -
A. Efimov
b. 1922 Hereditary jeweler, one of the jewelers for the Moscow Jewelry cooperative. Efimov’s father kept his own jewelry workshop in Moscow prior to the revolution, and many of his wards became colleagues of the younger Efimov at the cooperative. -
B. Sergeyev
b. 1930 One of the Moscow Jewelry cooperative masters. He mastered engraving, filigree, and granulation, a technique whereby a surface is covered with granules of precious metal.
In 1922, free trade in silver and gold became permitted, which stimulated development of the jewelry industry. In 1923, the Moscow Jewelry Association (MYuT) was formed, which controlled the release of jewelry products throughout the entire Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
In controlling the jewelry market, the association also served as a base for buying precious stones, pieces of gold and silver, and watches, as well as a workshop for restoration and jewelry production.
MYuT stores operated in Petrograd, Baku, and Tbilisi. All jewelry products in the country between 1923 and 1926 had the MYuT brand.
Until 1927, hallmarks of the pre-revolutionary period of 1908-1917 were retained on gold and silver pieces. During the civil war, the quantity of hallmark managers greatly decreased, and up until 1924 there remained only a few in Moscow, Petrograd, and Kostroma. After the formation of the USSR, the number of hallmark managers increased to 14 (RSFSR - 7, USSR - 3, ZSFSR - 3, BSSR - 1), and they were taken over by the Republic’s People’s Commisariat of Finances.
Jewelry Cooperative
rubles/year output at today’s exchange rate
In 1926, MYuT became Mostorg, under whose control the Moscow Jewelry Cooperative was formed in 1930. It was the only cooperative that used metal for artwork in Moscow at the time. The cooperative specialized in the production of cigarette cases, rings, brooches, pendants, and cufflinks.
Experienced old-school craftsmen who mastered engraving, filigree, and granulation techniques worked at Moscow Jewelry. The building was located at Slesarny per. 5.
In 1960, the Moscow Jewelry Cooperative transformed into the Moscow Jewelry Factory. Today, it is the largest producer of diamond jewelry in the country. MYuZ has its own network of retail stores. The factory is part of a group of companies engaged in a full cycle of work with precious stones, from production and processing to sales.
In a year, jewelry masters gave out about 100,000 pieces of their work. The majority of these items were made with diamonds. The factory used these gems only from domestic deposits, and also worked with emeralds, pearls, sapphires, and rubies. They not only complemented the jewelry, but were also sold separately.
- 92 92 years of history
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15 THND
15 000 pieces
of jewelry -
300
300 stores in 90
cities across Russia