Viennese Silver – Jarosinski & Vaugoin
Silverware virtuoso from the Zieglergasse
Zieglergasse 24 is a well-known address for me and I also walk blindly from the hotel where I always sleep in Vienna. It is in a side street of the Mariahilferstraße which is not the most interesting street since it has many Highstreet Chains. But if you turn into the side streets you will come across many artisans. This includes Jarosinki & Vaugoin, an ancient silversmith who even served the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Court in the past. I once found them by accident when I turned into such a side street and was attracted by the beautiful facade and shop windows.
That I was not the only one who was attracted by the beauty of this company quickly became clear to me when I saw in the shop the many photos of the silverware that has been delivered to many Royal Houses, Presidents, Embassies and other famous and powerful people across the world. Silverware may seem old-fashioned to many people, but it is still very important in the higher circles and must be perfectly cared for.
The current owner Jean-Paul Vaugoin is a very recognisable gentleman who always wears good suits, ties and shoes and communicates with a magical "Wienerisch" accent. He took over the company from his father and his passion for silver is turning every individual into a silver enthusiast as well. Mister Vaugoin has even set up a small museum above the shop and atelier where old pieces of silver, which the company or other Viennese silversmiths made, can be found. If you ask him if you can see this he will immediately give you a mini tour and tell with pleasure the fascinating stories behind each piece. It does include a set of the gold-plated cutlery from the King of Malaysia Sultan of Pahang.
Jarosinski & Vaugoin - silverware worth the Royal Tables
Jarosinski & Vaugoin was founded in 1847 by Carl Vaugoin, an ancestor of Jean-Paul, so we immediately discover the special fact that this company has been a family business for over 170 years. Carl Vaugoin specialized in heavy handmade silver cutlery. He was so skilled in this that he won several prizes at the World Exhibition in 1873, which was a crown on his work. In 1905 the Vaugoin family decided to merge with the company Jarosinski and from then on the company would continue as Jarosinski & Vaugoin. This was also the moment when the company moved into the Zieglergasse no. 24, where it still is today with an almost unchanged interior. In 1910 the company received the designation K.U.K. Hofleverancier and the Imperial court was fully equipped with the finest silverware. This would however not be the last Court, which was supplied by Jarosinski & Vaugoin. Already in 1928, deliveries were made to the Romanian Court where King Aleksandar I. Karadordevic fulfilled the duty of the Crown. In the meantime, a collaboration had also developed with the world-famous '' Wiener Werkstätte '', especially with artist Josef Hoffmann, to design new pieces. Other successes followed, such as a prize at the world exhibition in Paris in 1937, the Austrian Government who commissioned the Donnerbrunnen in Miniature Silver to be manufactured at the company as a gift for the USSR and another prize at the world exhibition in Brussels in 1958. A year later, all Austrian embassies were equipped with silverware from Jarosinski & Vaugoin and this has remained unchanged to this day.
Perhaps a more recent highlight is the reproduction of Benvenuto Cellini 's '' Saliera '' (which can be seen in the famous Art History Museum) , produced by the company and donated by the city of Vienna to the British Queen Elizabeth.
Since 2003, Jean-Paul Vaugoin has been in charge of Jarosinski & Vaugoin and has also managed to gain prominent clients such as the Arabian Royal families but also nouveau riche from Russia, who wanted to learn everything from him regarding classic table culture.
Silverware is forever
The range of products, although unchanged, is also somewhat expanded here and there. There are now besides tableware products also products like jewellery, cufflinks, pins, figures and other silver objects since Jean Paul Vaugoing took over. Cutlery is still custom-made, based on examples that the company has made in the past or even completely according to the customer's design. The latter is the most preferred and you will therefore always see interesting things when you walk around in the workshop of Jarosinski & Vaugoin.
The silver cutlery is still hand-studded and you will hear a lot of hammering in the atelier. When you walk around you will see someone bending a spoon, and elsewhere you find another one cutting out a fork. You see it slowly turning into cutlery and you sense the typical smell of chemicals that you expect in any silver or gold workshop. These are the baths for cleaning and to create the shininess. And of course there is also a lot of polishing. It is perhaps the most ancient for of an atelier as you imagine it when you talk about artisans. The company also restores old cutlery. Either it comes from them or from another silversmith , it makes no difference as their service mindset is to help every customer. Nowadays, many entrust their family silver to the company and there are even churches that bring their religious silver along to be restored. This is done with as much precision as making new silver pieces and sometimes it may take even more work.
If you ask Mister Vaugoin if silver is not a bit outdated, you get a very clear answer; It is more actual than ever before! In a time of digitization and intangible things, people want something that is eternal again, something that is still there 5 generations later. You buy silver cutlery forever and you can give it ahead for generations, that's what it's for.