Our Story
Our vision is to bring a personal connection and soul to the commoditized world of jewelry.
Stittgen Fine Jewelry is Vancouver’s pre-eminent custom jeweler with deep roots within this city that go back over half a century. Our strengths lie in designing and crafting highly personal works of art for our discerning clients. And for those without the luxury of time, we offer a wide selection of ready-to-wear pieces that exhibit the same design flair and uncompromising craftsmanship that we have built our reputation on.
Whether you come in for commissioning an heirloom piece, or for a simple repair, you will be greeted by our capable experts whose only goal is to ensure you experience exceptional customer service that Stittgen is known for.
Karl Stittgen's Legacy
Karl Stittgen arrived in Vancouver from Germany in 1952, and soon established himself as a watchmaker and jeweler in West Vancouver, a block away from our current location. In these early years Karl Stittgen became a key player in the very active artistic scene in Vancouver. Other luminaries in these formative years included Toni Cavelti (who was the resident goldsmith at Karl’s store for a time), Bill Reid, Jack Shadbolt, Tony Onley and Arthur Erickson. As Karl’s bold new designs gained international recognition, he opened Stittgen stores in Calgary, San Francisco and New York. For a time Karl took a diversion from jewelry design to interior design, only to once again concentrate his energies on his passion for jewelry by opening his beloved boutique on South Granville in Vancouver. This is where he spent his last working years, training several Master Goldsmiths and inspiring them with his timeless designs and instilling in them a commitment to integrity and the highest quality craftsmanship.
In 2009, Karl Stittgen received the Creative Achievement Award of Distinction in Vancouver at the 5th annual BC Creative Achievement Awards for Applied Art and Design. Stittgen was selected for his “profound and lasting impact on applied art and design in British Columbia.” Read more about Karl Stittgen’s award here.
Karl Stittgen’s bold yet elegant jewelry designs and his distinctly European flair live on. To this day, the Master Goldsmiths at Stittgen Fine Jewelry draw inspiration from Karl and look to him as a mentor and guide. We carry on Karl Stittgen’s tradition with designs that are timeless, elegant and unique. Indeed, our Master Goldsmiths make some of his signature pieces to this day, using the very same techniques that allow each piece to be truly one of a kind.
Read what Dupuis Fine Jewellery Auctioneers, a premiere auction house specializing exclusively in jewelry, has to say about Karl Stittgen here.
The Ginkgo Leaf Logo
The ginkgo leaf in our logo comes from the ginkgo biloba tree. Most people have heard about its medicinal benefits, but this tree has many unique features that make it a worthy symbol for our company. The tree and its unique fan-shaped leaves are not only beautiful, but also very durable.
The tree can live for over a thousand years and indeed the species, which is botanically in a class by itself, has been around for over 200 million years. We strive every day to live up to this symbol of beauty, uniqueness and longevity.
The Stittgen Advantage
We are a team of dedicated experts.
Our cutting edge designs are implemented without cutting corners. Whether we use a sketchpad and pencil, or state of-the-art rendering software, the focus of the design is always you. In the case of bespoke pieces, we will ensure that your journey towards your unique work of art is a memorable one. And when it comes to turning our designs into reality, we use time honored techniques to handcraft each individual piece with uncompromising quality.
In today’s mass-produced world, these techniques are harder and harder to find. There are more efficient ways of producing jewelry, but these techniques invariably result in a product of inferior quality – a difference you will either see right away in the finish, or in a few years when an untimely repair will be needed to ensure the integrity of your piece.
See our Expertise section for more details or come and talk to us about what to look for in fine jewelry.
What Quality Means
to Us
Quality is an over-used term in retail in general and jewelry in particular. Stittgen Fine Jewelry’s view is that quality must persist in every aspect of the customer experience. From the quality of the interaction with our commission-free sales associates, to the consultation with our highly trained goldsmiths or gemologists, to the workmanship and finish of the product, to the relationship between us – we endeavour to offer the highest quality possible. Our focus on providing quality consistently also means that you never have to wait for a “sale” – at Stittgen, quality has a fair price every day of the year.
While the quality of our approach may be evident in our interaction, what you may not be able to readily discern is the underlying quality of our products. Our diamonds are graded more strictly than how some others may grade them. For example what we grade as an SI stone, may be graded by others as a VS stone (read more about diamond grading and certificates in our Expertise section.)
Our pieces are designed and crafted to provide lifelong satisfaction. This means, for example, the clasp has to operate flawlessly after being opened and closed a thousand times, and your precious stone needs to be secure in its setting even after a few accidental knocks.
We are local
Our creations are designed and handcrafted right here in Vancouver by goldsmiths that are the best in their field. People who can shop the world come to Stittgen because they know a Stittgen piece cannot be found anywhere else.
Being local has practical benefits too. We can get things done and we don’t need to check with Head Office in some other timezone. Our experienced sales consultants work as a team with a single purpose: your complete satisfaction. Some of our award-winning goldsmiths are right here on premises, while others, requiring more specialized equipment and facilities, are offsite but in constant touch. We even have qualified and licensed gemologists and appraisers, often available right here at our full service store.
Our Location
Our West Vancouver store opened in 2003, a block away from where Karl Stittgen had opened his original studio decades prior. It is a 5-minute drive from Lions Gate Bridge, and a short stroll from scenic Ambleside Beach. The concept of the store is more of a gallery to showcase our unique pieces. Here you will find a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere to browse our in-store selection, with informed staff ready to help you find exactly what you are looking for – and if it doesn’t exist, we will create it.
We look forward to welcoming you.