Idar-Oberstein jewellery & metalware industry in the 19th & 20th centuries

01.01.2017 – 31.12.2025, Industrial monument

The permanent exhibition in the Jakob Bengel industrial monument presents the development of the Idar-Oberstein jewellery and metalware industry in the 19th and 20th centuries against the background of some general aspects of regional history. It not only provides a representative overview of jewellery products, materials, techniques and manufacturers from the region, but also sheds light on the economic and socio-historical development of the industry. In addition to pattern books and designs, the Jakob Bengel Foundation has an extraordinary collection of costume jewellery, gallantry goods and documents from local manufacturers, which can be used to place not only the jewellery but also work processes and life inside and outside such a factory in a historical context.