Every unique company has a strong story behind it. The story of the inspiration that accompanies Martin Beffert’s jewelry along the way of creating unique design began in Germany. Previous generations had worked in a German jewelry factory, and Martin decided to continue the tradition. In addition to perfect quality, he wanted to add something extra to the combination of love and the island atmosphere of Mauritius, where he moved in 30 years ago.
Ivana/ What were the beginnings of building a jewelry workshop directly in Mauritius, for a German designer? What was your main inspiration?
Martin: I was born in Germany in one very small city called Pforzheim. The town is known as “Golden city“ by people. Pforzheim was at that time famously known for its thriving jewelry industry. Everyone worked in the jewelry business, including my family. I am the third generation of goldsmiths. I always had a passion for design. I love drawing & sketching and was generally very creative, didn’t want an office job. So when I was 17, I started with jewelry, it was an obvious choice. My final exam piece won the German apprentice award.
I was always dreaming about moving to a tropical place for a while. So two weeks before my 30 years I moved to Mauritius. My daughter was also born here.
Mauritius is a beautiful place, not only beaches & ocean – also sugar cane fields, mountains, rivers & waterfalls. We have amazing flora and fauna and all these not only allow us to work in a beautiful place but also offer inspiration. The environment in which you work is a very vital part and Mauritius offers many sunny days and a relaxed atmosphere.
The collection is a combination of Martin‘s German roots and his inspirations from Mauritius. Our family company is a mix of German – clean, simple, straight, contemporary and modern. And Mauritian super tropical, fun, contrasting textures & colours.
Ivana/ Creating an overall jewelry design is definitely very time consuming, especially if it is a wedding ring that you specially design directly according to the needs and requirements of the customer? What is the procedure for creating such a unique piece as wedding rings?
Martin: Our wedding ring collection is custom-made. Every ring is different from the last one that left our workshop. A client will either come to us with a concrete design in mind and we’ll make it for them exactly as desired or the client allows us to create a jewel based on only a few design points and inspirations that they give us.
Each pair of wedding bands can also be personalized with a special message which we then engrave into them.
The magical part of getting rings made by us in Mauritius is that it is part of the whole wedding experience on the island. It’s partly a souvenir of a beautiful stay on the island (wedding/honeymoon) but it’s also a symbol of their love and marriage. It combines two wonderful memories.
Ivana: I learned that your daughter has already fallen in love with the craft of jewelry. Likewise, your wife is part of the family business and oversees the quality of every piece of jewelry. And the fulfillment of dreams and wishes in the form of perfect jewelry design is taken care of by the owner and the main designer in one person, Martin Beffert. Are family companies a huge guarantee of quality, great service, individual approach?
Martin: My daughter Lisa will be the next jewelry generation. I’m very proud of her, She studied at the oldest and most well-known jewelry school in Germany (Goldschmiedeschule Pforzheim). She graduated as a jewelry designer in 2018. She added 1,5 years of training at the company in Mauritius to officially graduate as a designer and goldsmith in February 2020. Lisa was always very involved in the family business, growing up alongside the company. We spend a lot of time together, making business decisions as a family. My wife is the best controller of the quality, I do the design and my daughter is a new successor. Everything we do, we do with love and heart. Because jewelry is about heart and love.
We value our clients very much and give them a special approach.
Clients can visit our boutique where we are very happy to pay attention to them and show the overall progress of work. They can see how designs and jewelry are made, while also watching us at work. Clients will get a personal and individual approach to sales. They meet directly with the designer and the family behind their jewelry. We are not just a commercial brand that wants to sell a product. We would like to hear from the client how they feel about it.
In our boutique people can see everything, as the boutique is in the same building as our factory. Clients are always welcome to take a tour of our workshop. We chose to be completely transparent. We don’t want a hidden part of the process.
Jewelry lovers are always fascinated to see how their jewel starts as a raw material and gets transformed into this beautiful piece – from waxing to metal casting, filing and polishing, everything can be seen.
Sea urchin collection, Tahitian sea urchin
Ivana: I know you have been working on a unique design project „Sea Urchin collection“ for a long time and will you tell me something more?
Martin : The Sea Urchin collection is a signature collection by Martin Beffert. It is our first collection inspired by family and beautiful moments spent on the beach.
Every family on the beach is looking for small mussels and we were inspired by urchin skeletons, which were located on our favorite beaches in Mauritius. It is one of our first collections and it keeps growing over the years. We always admired their beautifully formed skeletons and perfect textures. So we decided to incorporate it into modern silver designs. We started experimenting with their textures and thought of unique ways to build them into fine jewelry.
Sea urchin collection
The collection is split into two main parts.
- The sterling silver collection combines silver with gold elements, diamonds, precious stones (Peridot, Blue Topas, Amethyst), freshwater and Tahiti pearls. Oxidised silver (black) is also a unique highlight that is not seen everywhere – allows for a nice contrast to the gold elements and diamonds. The silver collection is modern and has a lot of statement pieces.
- The finer more petite collection is made of 18ct yellow, white and rose gold with diamonds and precious stones. The gold collection is timeless and elegant.
Sea urchin collection is a perfect souvenir for tourists visiting the island. It will always remind you of a tropical, beach destination without it being another cheaper-looking tourist souvenir.
As it’s not a typical, obvious souvenir piece it’s also ideal for locals that appreciate the ocean and like the texture of the sea urchin.
Ivana: What is most important to the company, apart from design excellence and manual meticulous work?
Martin: Mauritius unfortunately has no raw materials (silver, gold, stones) which we can use to produce our jewelry. We import everything from reliable companies with good reputations from Germany. We believe in using excellent quality raw materials from reliable & sustainable sources.
Our clients expect high quality and we set our standards high to reach them. Each piece is meticulously checked before it leaves our workshop – value for money.
We have a unique and very high quality production which is very important for us. We use a combination of traditional goldsmith techniques, like handmade and the latest technological tools. We combine with most modern technologies CAD, 3D printing, laser cutting and engraving, using the newest tools to achieve the best quality possible.
Ivana/ What are the company’s plans for the future?
Martin:We plan to build a new boutique in 2021. Our main focus is being able to offer beautiful souvenirs from the island in a modern shopping environment that mirrors our jewelry style and quality.
We would like to continue in the future to work on more exciting collections inspired by our beautiful island. We also would like to expand our sea urchin collection.
Beautiful sea urchin studs in 18ct white & rose gold with 0.2 carat diamonds.
Jewelry is associated with beautiful emotions, love and happiness. Martin Beffert’s family boutique company creates beautiful jewelry and puts a heart and a stamp of quality into the jewelry art, Le Globless.
