We begin at the rough.

Before there is a jewel, there is a stone — and a decision about what it might become.

For thirteen generations, the Leyser family has worked with gemstones in Idar-Oberstein, one of the world’s historic centres of gemstone cutting and lapidary craftsmanship.

Parish and civil records of the Nahe valley trace generations of Leysers working as Achatschleifer — agate and gemstone cutters — from the seventeenth century onward. They worked the water-powered mills along the Idarbach, lying prone before sandstone wheels nearly a metre and a half across. Two cutters worked at each stone — a physically demanding trade that Otto Leyser would later describe in his memoirs.

When the local gemstone deposits began to diminish, the trade followed the stone abroad.

Verwandtschaftstafel Leyser, compiled by H. P. Brandt, 2006.

In 1898, Otto Leyser left for Brazil to try his luck in the gemstone fields. The venture began with imperial topaz near Ouro Preto, but after weeks without success his companions were ready to abandon the search.

Otto continued.

His search took him north through Minas Gerais to the workings on the Bouqueirão, the mountain above Salinas, where tourmaline had been found for generations. It was the beginning of almost six years in Brazil — years spent close to the source of the stones that would shape the family’s trade for decades to come.

Otto’s son Helmut spent almost six years at the cutting wheels before he was allowed to sell a stone. Later, while many Idar houses still waited for buyers to come to them, he packed a case and travelled to Bombay, Colombo and Hong Kong.

He left behind two principles: never tie yourself to one mine — preserve your independence and trust your own judgement. And never depend on one gemstone, because tastes change while good stones endure.

Thomas Leyser in Tanzania, 1970s
Looking for stones where they are found.

The search for exceptional gemstones increasingly took the Leysers beyond Idar-Oberstein. In the late 1960s and 1970s, Helmut Leyser worked closely with Prof. Dr. Hermann Bank of Gebrüder Bank, sourcing rough gemstones directly from East Africa.

Their travels took them to the tanzanite mines of the Merelani Hills and onwards through Tanzania and Kenya. A letter written by Bank for Helmut Leyser’s 65th birthday recalls these journeys and records their involvement in naming the green grossular garnet “Tsavolith” — a name subsequently confirmed by the nomenclature commission of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation.

This photograph, taken around 1980, shows part of the Gebrüder Leyser team in the Idar-Oberstein atelier.

Rolf Ehrhardt, Robert Schuf, Theo Biegel, Berthold Schneider, Herbi Heinz, Otto Leyendecker and Horst Zimmermann.

Gebrüder Leyser, the firm, was wound up in the 1990s.

The knowledge was not.

Thomas Leyser began again under his own name. His son Sebastian is the thirteenth generation of the family to work with these stones.

Three generations of Leysers, Idar-Oberstein, 1978

From left: Albert Leyser, Karl-Otto Leyser, Thomas Leyser, Mandfred Leyser, Karl-Heinz Leyser, Helmut Leyser, Eberhard Leyser

Sebastian Leyser, 1980
An early appearance for the family business.

Idar-Oberstein, 1992. Bernd Cullmann and Sebastian Leyser, among the first club champions of GC Edelstein Hunsrück. Cullmann was both an Olympic gold medallist and an Idar-Oberstein master gemstone cutter — the “fastest gem cutter in the world.”

The world around the stones has changed considerably since the first Leysers lay at the wheels of the Idarbach.

The work still begins in much the same place.

With a piece of rough, and a decision about what is inside it.

Today, the same instinct for the stone remains at the centre of our work.

At our independent atelier in Idar-Oberstein, we source, select and work exceptional coloured gemstones — from Paraíba tourmalines and aquamarines to sapphires, rubies, mandarin garnets and rare individual finds.

Some stones begin with us in the rough. Others are recut or refined until colour, proportion and character are allowed to emerge. Only then does the jewellery begin.

Working in gold and platinum, we create one-of-a-kind and bespoke pieces around the gemstone rather than forcing the gemstone into a predetermined design.

For bespoke commissions, that understanding of the stone is combined with the wishes, story and personality of the person who will wear it.

The world around the stones has changed considerably since generations of Leysers first sat at the wheels in Idar-Oberstein. The conversations around them have become international.

In recent years, LEYSER has regularly exhibited at GemGenève, bringing exceptional coloured gemstones and jewellery from our Idar-Oberstein atelier to collectors, designers and fellow members of the international jewellery community.

The setting changes. The work still begins with the stone.

LEYSER at GemGenève — Geneva, 2019–2026.
Explore our years at GemGenève →

For a contemporary perspective on LEYSER, coloured gemstones and our family tradition, read our interview with jewellery writer and industry expert Katerina Perez.

A coloured stone cannot be judged from a photograph.

We welcome private appointments in Idar-Oberstein, Gstaad, London and Lake Como by arrangement, as well as remote consultations with clients worldwide — whether you are looking for a single stone or commissioning a piece around one.

Call or WhatsApp +41 78 621 2080, or email sales@leyser.jewelry.

We begin at the rough.