Spitzbarth Juwelier

Spitzbarth Juwelier sits on the Neumarkt, a small square in Zürich's old town, and it has stayed in the same family since 1921. That is the detail worth knowing before you book a consultation: this is not a boutique that borrowed a heritage-sounding name, it is a fourth-generation goldsmith and silversmith workshop that has just finished handing the business from the third generation to the fourth. If you are new to the city and looking for a signet ring, a family stone reworked into something new, or a wedding band actually made rather than picked off a tray, that continuity is the whole point of choosing an atelier over a shop window.

What it is

The shop's own line is "seit 1921 für Qualität, die bleibt" (since 1921, for quality that lasts), and the current owner, Marco Spitzbarth, greets visitors on the homepage in the first person: "I look forward to your visit and I'm happy to advise you." The workshop makes three things. Wedding rings and modern jewelry, made in its own atelier. Signet and heraldic rings, its stated specialty. And silver, from guild cups to family cutlery, including repair and restoration work. Nothing here is described as bought in from a wholesaler and stamped with the family name; every product line on the site is framed as designed or made by the family itself, which is exactly the distinction the goldsmiths in this category are ranked on.

A century in the family

Fritz Spitzbarth-Grieb bought an existing silversmith's workshop and shop from a Jacques Stähli-Rebmann in 1921, at Feldeggstrasse 58 in Zürich-Riesbach. That original workshop's own roots reached back further still, to a cutlery smithy from the second half of the 19th century. Fritz's son Rudolf took the business over in 1936, in the middle of the Depression, and pushed it into hollow ware: pitchers, trays and table services. In 1944 Erika Petersen, a trained master silversmith, joined the family through her marriage to Rudolf and shaped the aesthetic direction from there, adding jewelry design to what had been mostly a silverware trade.

The workshop moved from Feldeggstrasse to Weinplatz around 1960 and stayed there for decades. Roland Spitzbarth, Rudolf's son, took charge in 1991. He trained at the Kunstschule Pforzheim, the German town synonymous with goldsmithing, and his wife, known today as Monika Spitzbarth, is a master goldsmith and jewelry designer in her own right; she is still the name behind the modern jewelry line sold now. The family also ran a second outpost in Zürich-Höngg from 2002, which Roland closed in 2013 for age reasons, moving that workshop's production to an external goldsmith, Cyrill Weber, in Oberwil.

Marco Spitzbarth, the fourth generation, took over the digital side of the business and opened the current shop at Neumarkt 8 in 2012. The site marks 2021 as its 100th anniversary, and its own current homepage text describes a fresh chapter: a formal handover to the fourth generation, with the company reorganised as a new GmbH entity. Zürich's commercial register lists that new GmbH with a statute date of 10 February 2025, which lines up with what the company says about itself. Worth flagging as a genuine (and honestly quite normal) transition period for a small family firm changing hands.

Signet rings and heraldry, the specialty

Spitzbarth's own headline specialty, and the one it puts front and center, is signet and heraldic rings, made with what the site calls informed heraldic knowledge. The process runs in four stages. First, a personal consultation, where you bring whatever you already have: a family coat of arms, initials, an old signet ring to copy, or nothing more than an idea, and the goldsmith talks through the ring's shape, comfort, material and budget. Second, design: a sketch or a 3D visualisation drawing on the workshop's heraldic background. Third, the bench work itself, made in their own workshop, with a fitting appointment before the final engraving goes in. Fourth, engraving and handover, which includes a wax or paper impression of the finished seal.

Materials run from 18k (750 fine) yellow, rose and white gold through to platinum and silver, and stone choices for the seal face include carnelian, layered niccolo, lapis lazuli and onyx, the traditional palette for this kind of ring rather than anything invented for the shop. The site states plainly that a commission "usually takes one to two months, depending on workload and engraving complexity," which is a genuinely useful number if you are timing this around a birthday or an engagement. It does not publish a price list for custom engraving work, which is normal for bespoke pieces; ask for a quote at the consultation rather than assuming a figure going in.

Wedding rings and modern pieces

Wedding rings get the same handmade treatment. The site describes them as individually made "from the first draft to the final polish," with the profile, material, surface finish and any diamonds chosen together with the goldsmith, plus room for a personal engraving inside the band. Materials are yellow gold, rose gold, white gold and platinum. The modern jewelry line, designed by Monika Spitzbarth in platinum, gold and silver, is described as clean and everyday-wearable rather than showy, and the shop also carries a small number of pieces from designer friends alongside its own work. Neither page publishes prices or a standard lead time for this line, so treat the signet-ring timeframe above as a workshop-wide indicator rather than a promise for every commission.

Silver, from guild cups to your grandmother's cutlery

The fourth strand of the business, and the one that goes back furthest, is silver: fist cups, christening cups and large guild cups, silver cutlery, guild badges, and decorative beakers and jugs, most of it sold through an online shop rather than made to order. Spitzbarth also repairs and restores silver cutlery, silverware, and jewelry set with gemstones or diamonds, which matters if you have inherited a piece rather than bought one new. Online shop prices include Switzerland's 8.1 percent VAT, and shipping is free above CHF 500. Nothing on the pages we checked says whether the online shop ships outside Switzerland, so if you are buying from abroad, ask before you order rather than assuming it does.

What a newcomer to Zürich should know before booking

A few practical points matter more to someone new to the city than to a local. First, language: the site is German only, with no English version and no language switcher on any page we checked. That does not mean the goldsmiths cannot serve you in English, plenty of small Zürich businesses do, but it is not published anywhere, so confirm it when you call or email rather than assuming. Second, access: the shop currently operates by appointment only while it works through the handover described above, so plan to book ahead rather than walking in during the listed Tuesday to Friday, 10 to 18h and Saturday, 10 to 16h hours (closed Mondays). Third, payment: the checkout accepts Visa, Mastercard, TWINT, EC cards, cash and, notably, crypto; the shop even marked its 2021 centenary by issuing a limited run of NFTs it called Crypto Gold Nuggets, an odd but genuine detail for a hundred-year-old workshop. Fourth, price transparency: the online shop is upfront about VAT and its shipping threshold, but bespoke signet rings and wedding bands are quoted individually rather than listed, so budget for a consultation before a purchase.

Who it suits

This is the right stop if you already own a stone or an heirloom worth reworking, if you want a signet ring made with real heraldic background rather than a generic crest stamped from a catalogue, or if you and a partner want a wedding band actually built on the bench rather than selected from a display case. It suits patience over speed: a commission takes weeks, not a same-day pickup. It is a less obvious fit if you want to walk in unannounced and browse, since the current appointment-only setup makes spontaneous visits harder than the published hours suggest.

The verdict

Few workshops in this category can point to four documented generations under one family name stretching back to 1921, complete with names, dates and a stated specialty in heraldic work that most jewelers in the city do not touch at all. Spitzbarth backs that history with a workshop that still makes its wedding rings, modern jewelry and signet rings on site, and it is refreshingly clear about what it does not publish, rather than hedging around gaps. The appointment-only current setup and the German-only website are real friction for a newcomer, but neither is a reason to look elsewhere; book ahead, confirm the language question directly, and you get a genuinely old, genuinely hands-on Zürich goldsmith rather than a themed retail counter.