Iron is actually a hard, cold and above all functional material.

The thought of jewelry and beauty is not associated with it.

At best, the "Iron Cross" designed by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel as a national badge of honor generally stands for iron that was not used as an industrial material.

However, iron is not only used to make machines, components, everyday objects and chemical products, it is also ideal for the production of delicate jewelery and filigree accessories.

Because iron can be much softer than commonly assumed.

Until the end of the year, an exhibition by the German Goldsmiths' House in Hanau entitled "Tender as Iron" will give an impression of the variety of iron jewelry production.

Luise Glaser-Lotz

Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung for the Main-Kinzig district.

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Around 100 pieces of jewelery from a collection by Klaus-Peter and Judith Thomé, which recently became part of the Pforzheim Jewelery Museum, are on display.

It designed an exhibition to present the surprisingly delicate exhibits to as wide an audience as possible.

In the goldsmith's house, examples of cast iron from Hanau complement the pieces of jewelery from Pforzheim.

"The iron jewelry was a typical product of German applied arts between 1785 and the revolution of 1848, an expression of patriotic sentiment," says Christianne Weber-Stöber, manager of the goldsmith's house.

Often worn as mourning jewelry

The interest in fake jewelery made of steel, iron, ebonite and other simple materials grew out of the emancipation of the bourgeoisie at the time.

According to her, iron jewelry first gained popularity through chains with iron coins to commemorate heroic victors in the German armies.

Back then, people were also fascinated by what you could do with a simple substance like liquid iron.

"The most delicate and delicate effects were wrested from the iron, and the mechanics of the manufacturer almost challenged the multiplication," says Weber-Stöber.

Numerous objects from two of the best-known private producers of iron jewelery from the 19th century are on display in Hanau: Johann Conrad Geiss and Siméon Pierre Devaranne.

They ran successful workshops in Berlin, which made cast iron popular in Prussia, independent of government commissions.

Initially, the iron foundry in Prussia was a state matter.

It took place at two locations of the Royal Prussian Iron Foundry.

Ammunition was mainly manufactured here, whereby a technique was developed to produce small elements as investment castings from thin iron.

This method was the prerequisite for making medals and cameos from iron.

According to Weber-Stöber, the establishment of private foundries in Prussia was also important for this.

In the new Berlin iron foundry, the recipe for mixing the iron was improved so that the production of cast-iron jewelry and decorative objects could begin in 1810.

These works of art were often designed by artists and architects.

The Berlin jewelers Geiss and Devaranne, whose sales of gold jewelery had declined, began to acquire cameos from the iron foundries around 1806 and to transform them into jewelery with portraits of well-known personalities or depictions of gods.

Very soon, as the goldsmith's house tells us, these jewelers designed and produced their own iron jewelry.

The term "Fer de Berlin" was established for this.

"I gave gold for iron"

According to Weber-Stöber, the simplicity of the material and its brittle character met the needs of the bourgeoisie for demonstrative modesty and restraint.

Leaf shapes and motifs inspired by antiquity, such as mythical scenes and gods, as well as floral ornaments such as in Art Nouveau or animal figures, which were either cast in molds from liquid iron or drawn from thin iron rods into wire and braided, were popular.

Iron jewelry was often worn as mourning jewelry.

A real boom started after the death of Queen Luise of Prussia.

Iron Luise brooches, crosses and pendants were popular with Prussian women in commemoration of the popular queen, revered as a heroine after her meeting with Napoleon at Tilsit in 1807, according to the goldsmith house.

Princess Marianne of Prussia called on women to donate gold jewelery to finance the wars of liberation against Napoleon.

For this they received a ring or a brooch made of iron with the inscription "I gave gold for iron".

There were two iron foundries in Hanau in the 19th century that produced art objects and jewellery.

They belonged to Ernst Georg Zimmermann and Alfred Richard Seebaß.

Hardly any complete pieces of jewelery have survived from these workshops, but parts such as rosettes, cross pendants and animal figures have survived.

Information about opening times, admission prices and dates for Sunday tours is available on the Internet at www.goldschmiedehaus.com.