It's true. The Premiere silver cutlery from Berndorf Sandrik celebrates a magnificent 180 years. It has survived the founding of Czechoslovakia, the First and Second World Wars, the invasion of the armies of the five socialist countries of the Warsaw Pact, the Velvet Revolution, the establishment of the independent democratic Slovak Republic and is still in production today. Berndorf Sandrik silver cutlery is made of 925/1000 silver. The cutlery is hallmarked by the Assay Office of the Slovak Republic in accordance with the current Act on Hallmarking and Testing of Precious Metals 94/2013 Coll. and the relevant Decree 119/2013 Coll.
We pay special attention to silver cutlery. As well as customers who invest in silver cutlery. Did you know that we at Berndorf Sandrik exclusively deliver silver cutlery directly to our customers? It is our pleasure and personal responsibility.
But how did it all come about and why did the production of silver cutlery settle in this district?
The Štiavnica Mountains were rich in gold-bearing and silver-bearing veins. Banská Štiavnica was the centre of mining. Gradually, mining moved along the narrow valley of the Hodrušianka stream towards Dolné Hámre. The owner of these mines was the Gerambov Mining Union. It was one of the most powerful and technically advanced mining companies in the second half of the 19th century. The decline in the price of silver on the world markets forced the representatives of the union not only to deal with the extraction of ore, but also to start processing the extracted metal into final products.
An inscription in a commemorative book survives from the founding of the factory. It says that the mining company Ján and Jozef Geram decided to build a magnificent silver factory in Dolní Hámry on the so-called Sandrik land, in which they would process silver of their own production as well as Hungarian and foreign silver. In this factory, artistic production in the spirit of the Hungarian Renaissance and the production of commercial goods are planned.
Construction of the factory began on 22 April 1895 and production started in November of the same year. Róbert von Berks, a knight who married into the Geramba family, became the director. The factory employed 190 people, mostly foreigners. The new production started to develop very promisingly and in the first two years they processed more than 400kg of silver, mostly for art products. Already in the first year, the local silversmiths presented a collection of their products at the millennium exhibition in Budapest, which was held on the occasion of the thousandth anniversary of the existence of Hungary. at this exhibition, they also won the first award, which was an encouragement for the following years.
The first crisis of the Sandra factory and the need for a loan from the Hungarian government
The consumer market, at that time consisting only of the aristocracy and the landlords, quickly filled up. The assumption made by the director, Róbert von Berks, that they would process 10 000 kg of silver a year proved to be wrong. Berks was then forced to apply to the Hungarian government for a loan. The latter granted his request, but conditioned its kindness on two conditions. Firstly, that the Sandra factory would represent Hungary with its products at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900. Secondly, that the exhibited products would be designed and manufactured by experts from Sandrik. At that time, the artist Ján Peterka joined the factory and the aforementioned tasks were the first stress test for him. However, his designs brought Sandrik success in the form of a gold medal. This led to the appointment of Ján Peterka as Sandrik's director, a position he held for a full 28 years.
Achievements of Sandrik under the leadership of Ján Peterka
Director Ján Peterka wrote in his diary: "When in 1900 I took over the management of Sandrik, which was in deep decline, the first thing I did was to dismiss all the foreign barren forces, largely adventurers, among whom were professional thieves." From other accounts we learn that he gambled on the education of his own labor force. He started with a municipal school. He tried to see that the children of top professionals were well cared for. He built an apprenticeship school in which the silversmiths' adolescents received the necessary vocational training to be ready to produce world-class products. He also made sure that alongside skilled craftsmen, there were also artistic experts who helped to maintain Sandra's products at a high artistic level.
In addition to cutlery, they also made 'hollowware' from silver-plated alpaca. Tableware, furnishings for hotels, cafes, restaurants, small and large kitchens. Many of these products were decorated by engraving according to pre-prepared drawings, but also at the request of customers.
The personalisation of products carried over from history persists to this day
The hand-decorated products were in great demand among customers. Some had the ordered goods decorated with the initials of their names. Even today, Berndorf Sandrik personalises products according to the customer's wishes. He chooses his personalisation suppliers very carefully so that the products are not damaged and the work is done with precision.
Emphasis on product quality and workmanship
Director Jan Peterka often made the rounds to see for himself what products customers were interested in. On one of his visits to Vienna, he inspected several restaurants and cafés to see the state of their facilities. However, he was very disappointed to find that the leading establishments were using blackened aluminium utensils. The insights from the rounds led him to ideas on how to further expand the product range. He was convinced that only the solidity of the metal and the pursuit of tasteful and conscientious production could secure the interest of customers for an already small and unknown enterprise.
At Berndorf Sandrik today, we continue Jan Peterka's mission and ensure that Berndorf Sandrik products represent the brand well in shops and homes. Come and see for yourself in our stores in Trnava or Žarnovice.
Silver cutlery in the home is an investment
Owning silver cutlery in the home is no longer just for aristocrats. It is a long-term investment that binds emotions and becomes a family heirloom for several generations. Read more about why investing in silver is also an investment in your health in the blog Did you know that eating with silver is healthy? If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us.
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You can find the full film about the Silversmiths of Hodrush in the archives of Slovak Television. However, it is also posted on Youtube, so you can watch it here.
