In this article the author examines some problems concerning formation of the jewelry industry in the territory of Bessarabia, Moldavian RSS and the Republic of Moldova, for the considerations that contemporary art jewelry is presented as a subject very poorly investigated, despite having an interest for historical researchers, the study art, ethnography and culturology. Are determinate some aspects of the evolution of different types of jewelry manufacturing workshops and articles Jewelry Plant Giuvaier from Chisinau, founded in 1972.jewelry art, museum collections, manufacturing, modern masters, jewelry decorations

Ph.D. Liliana CONDRATICOVA

English

Research Papers in Economics

Revista Românească  pentru Educaţie Multidimensională 
 
Romanian Journal for Multidimensional Education 
ISSN: 2066 – 7329 (print), ISSN: 2067 – 9270 (electronic) 
Coverd in: Index Copernicus, Ideas. RePeC, EconPapers, Socionet, Ulrich 
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Modern Jewelry Art of Moldova 
 
Liliana CONDRATICOVA 
Revista Românească  pentru Educaţie Multidimensională, 2010, Year 2, No. 4, 
August, pp: 73-78 
 
The online version of this article can be found at: 
 http://revistaromaneasca.ro 
 
Published by: 
Lumen Publishing House 
On behalf of: 
 Lumen Research Center in Social and Humanistic Sciences 
 
 
CONDRATICOVA,  L., (2010) Modern Jewelry Art of Moldova,  
Revista Roamneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, Year 2, No. 4, August, pp : 73-78 
 
 
73 
 
 
Modern Jewelry Art of Moldova 
 
Ph.D. Liliana CONDRATICOVA1 
 
Abstract:  
 
In this article the author examines some problems concerning formation 
of the jewelry industry in the territory of Bessarabia, Moldavian RSS and the 
Republic of Moldova, for the considerations that contemporary art jewelry is 
presented as a subject very poorly investigated, despite having an interest for 
historical researchers, the study art, ethnography and culturology. Are 
determinate some aspects of the evolution of different types of jewelry 
manufacturing workshops and articles Jewelry Plant "Giuvaier" from Chisinau, 
founded in 1972. 
 
Keywords: 
 
jewelry art, museum collections, manufacturing, modern masters, jewelry 
decorations 
 
 
                                                 
1 Ph.D. Liliana CONDRATICOVA – Ph.D. in art study, superior scientific researcher, Cultural 
Heritage Institute of the Moldova Academy of Sciences, Phone +373 069965832, Email 
Address lilia_condrat@list.ru 
 
CONDRATICOVA,  L., (2010) Modern Jewelry Art of Moldova,  
Revista Roamneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, Year 2, No. 4, August, pp : 73-78Revista Româneasc  pentru 
Educa ie Multidimensional  
 
 
74 
The modern jewelry art of Moldova is an inadequately investigated topic; 
hereupon it is of a particular interest for historians, art critics and jewelry 
admirers. 
At the beginning of the XX century, many goldsmiths worked in the 
Moldavian cities. «The Address Directory Calendar» issued at the beginning of 
the century by some S. Shaposhnikov, provides valuable information and 
advertisements of Moldavian jewelers, addresses of workshops and shops-
salons, where precious metals and stones for jewelry wares making were for sale 
(Anuarul 1924). We managed to find out that jewelers were mainly engaged in 
making and selling gold, silver, diamonds and platinum wares, while apprentices 
made inexpensive wares from nickel silver, German silver, and brass under 
careful supervision of skilled workmen. It should be noticed that the jewelers of 
Bessarabia together with watchmakers made the smallest cartel. So, for instance, 
the information of 1925 tells about 182 jewelers incorporated in working 
workshops together with watchmakers, out of which 150 goldsmiths worked in 
town. Such insufficient number of jewelers can be explained by the tact that 
they worked, mainly, for order, for the limited circle of buyers. In fact coral 
beads, platinum or gold wares were incredibly expensive even for a few well-off 
townspeople (Condraticova, 2008, 185-192). 
With the help of museum collections, literature and historical sources, 
we succeeded in recreating the woman's dress of the XX century and the 
characteristic jewelry wares. The townswomen generally preferred to wear a few 
strings of coral, mother-of-pearl, amber and, in great number, - glass beads. 
Beads and bead strings were intertwined in plaits, and their amount indicated 
the marital status of women. In some northlands and in Prydnestrovya the 
betrothed girl intertwined three decorative strings in her plaits compared to the 
unmarried ones, who had a right to carry 1 or 2 bead strings. In south Moldova, 
fianc es and newlyweds intertwined the beads of various silver or gold coins in 
plaits. Well-to-do fianc es distinguished themselves with pearl decorations 
symbolizing innocence and cleanness; the others used white bead for forehead 
or neck bandages. In some villages they wore l up to 3 strings of bead and in the 
districts, inhabited primary by Bulgarians, Gagauzes or Gypsies, they wore up to 
15–18 strings of glass beads. 
In rural locality, one could meet girls and young women in the 
embroidered with bead, silver or even gold threads blouses. Men preferred to 
wear the embroidered purses, copper betts, decorated with vegetable or 
geometrical decorative ornaments, tiny beads. These wares possessed some 
magic purpose, symbolized the well-being, success and therefore were used in 
Moldavian wedding ceremonies. It should be mentioned that expensive jeweler 
decorations were very often purchased not only as a beautiful piece of work but 
also for underlining the owner's social and economic status in society. 
 
CONDRATICOVA,  L., (2010) Modern Jewelry Art of Moldova,  
Revista Roamneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, Year 2, No. 4, August, pp : 73-78Modern Jewelry Art of Moldova 
Ph.D. Liliana CONDRATICOVA 
 
 
75 
In traditional Moldavian family’s hryvnas (the wares made of various 
coins) were very fashionable. Similar hryvnas can also be observed at Bulgarians 
and Gagauzes, and in 1950–60s soviet kopeykas were used for making hryvnas. 
The Moldavian goldsmiths successfully used this type of decorations for their 
original wares, only they offered geometrical figurines, various symbols or floral 
compositions instead of kopeykas. 
The townswomen differed substantially from rural women in their 
jeweler preferences, due to the latest European trends. Ladies decorated their 
fashionable hats with different fibulas, and their intricate hair-dos were 
decorated with hairpins with pastes or varicolored stones, with hairpins of 
ornamented hanging, more frequently of a bead, a stylized flower or a pearl. 
Brooches were used for hats, neckwears or ties decoration. Hairpins and 
brooches, made with the use of pale color enamel, colored pastes and 
zoomorphic decorative patterns, deserve special attention. Mainly those were 
hairpins-butterflies or dragon-fly brooches. Modern jewelers successfully use 
these motives in youth decorations making, harmoniously combining them with 
new tendencies. 
The workshops of precious metals and inexpensive alloys church utensil 
repairing and making were of special importance for the development of 
Moldova jeweler industry. At the beginning of the XX century, the role of the 
expensive church objects grew substantially due to the new workshops, which 
were engaged exceptionally in manufacturing the wares for churches and 
monasteries of Bessarabia. The workshops of Kishinev Archbishopness, opened 
in 1911, mainly fulfilled the orders for the church utensil: icons framings, 
candlesticks, icons and copper crosses (Catalog 1940). 
In 1940, workshops were renovated, equipped with the proper 
equipment new modern electric machine tools for jeweler wares casting were 
purchased. Local goldsmiths worked with any precious metal and cheap alloys 
and fulfilled the individual orders. 
In 1944 – 1972 the closed areas of gold wares making were created at 
some enterprises in Moldova. The wares, produced at «Elektroshirpotreb» plant 
«Elektrometalloremont», «The Factory of Metal Wares and Repairing*, as well as 
at «Progress» factory opened in 1958, were estimated and went through the 
testing in Odessa Testing Office up to the opening of Kishinev Testing Watch 
in the middle of 1980th. 
In 1972, within the framework of the all-union program 
UNIYUVELIRPROM, based on the large workshop a jeweler factory KUZ was 
opened in Kishinev, one of the last in the USSR, by the way. The development 
of jeweler production in Moldavia was characterized by the fact that the 
majority of jewelers worked in the capital. Those were specialists, which got 
their education at Russian schools or the artists that have mastered the 
principles of jeweler art independently. Having mastered the technology of 
 
CONDRATICOVA,  L., (2010) Modern Jewelry Art of Moldova,  
Revista Roamneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, Year 2, No. 4, August, pp : 73-78Revista Româneasc  pentru 
Educa ie Multidimensional  
 
 
76 
jeweler wares making to perfection, the artists-jewelers offered the unique and 
original models of jewelry, made gold, silver, natural stones wares according to 
the sketches of their own; they took into consideration both the requests of the 
average consumers and the connoisseurs of unique jewelry. It should be 
mentioned that the wares made according to the sketches of the second half of 
the XXth century masters, have been used and are still being used up to present 
today, and are very demanded, attracting by their original composition, as well as 
with the bold combination of vegetable motives and geometrical forms. Jewelers 
at the cutting shop opened at the plant at the end of 1980s, where the leading 
experts, that were invited to work there by the first KUZ director Valentine 
Suntsov, worked, cut the harmoniously fitted colored and synthetic stones 
(ruby, emerald, sapphire, corundum, turquoise, nephrite, cornelian and many 
others). Suntsov's undeniable achievement was that he managed to transform a 
small workshop into a powerful factory of those times at which more than 400 
artists–designers, jewelers, framers, casters and polishers were creating. They 
worked mainly with 375 and 583 standard gold, and only at the beginning of 
1990s, the production of silver and gilded wares was started (Condraticova 2009, 
289-298). 
At the same time local jewelers worked at the creation of decorative 
wares and jewelry at the jeweler workshop in the system of MSCR Artistic Fund. 
The experts were mastering the unknown handicraft grasping all its secrets and 
creating beautiful things. This was the period of Moldavian jeweler art prime, 
which astonished with its originality and uniqueness. The works of the gold-
smiths were highly artistic and always demanded, in spite of the inexpensive 
alloys (mainly, this was nickel silver or brass) usage. 
The samples were discussed at the Artistic Counsel; the estimation of 
sketches was critical and demanding. Only after Artistic Counsel approval, the 
goldsmith got the right for production of 25–50 copies of the work presented. 
The wares were mainly, manufactured manually, which granted them some 
unique individuality. A Jeweler–artist needed the feeling of freedom of creation 
and the conditions for the embodiment of his original projects and sketches 
inlife. The Creative House «Daile» in Palang, where in the process of intercourse 
with jewelers from Russia and other allied republics the necessary 
encouragement and consultations could be acquired gave such possibility of 
self-realization. In different years Vladimir Vasylkov, Alexei Marko and Georgiy 
Kozhushnyan got such rare possibility (Nicorici 2008, 90-109). 
Gold and silver wares of the second half of the XX century can be 
classified according their purpose and the artistic project: this is both everyday, 
simple, plain decorations, and jeweler wares intended for solemn events. Some 
wares brightly demonstrate tendencies in the artistic world of 1970 – 1990s, 
among which the combination of new forms and national traditions in 
 
CONDRATICOVA,  L., (2010) Modern Jewelry Art of Moldova,  
Revista Roamneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, Year 2, No. 4, August, pp : 73-78Modern Jewelry Art of Moldova 
Ph.D. Liliana CONDRATICOVA 
 
 
77 
decorations is most distinctly represented. The unique talent ability and 
skilfulness and, of course, the jeweler’s soul can be noticed in these wares. 
The masters created their special, unique style of jeweler wares, which 
are a success up to present day, taking into especial consideration that the 
interest to trendy decorations and accessories of 70-90 years of the previous 
century, such as massive rings, finger-rings, beads, mainly insertions of red color 
and warm tones, has lately been is revived. 
Despite difficult times, in the second half of the XX century women 
wore wedding ring large, beads or thin chain less, earrings more known as 
«Moldavian series». These are earrings stylized after hearts, moonlike earrings, 
with the engraved floral decorative patterns. 
In 1991 Kishinev Jeweler Factory was renamed «Giuvaier» (Jeweler), 
both brand name and trademark changed (it consists of the letter «G» and the 
national emblem of the Republic Moldova). Now the factory remains a 
monopolist of jewelry production in Moldova, developing in the conditions of 
market economy and hard competition with numerous private workshops. 
Advanced technologies allow providing the complete production cycle of 
jeweler wares making. The enterprise offers more than 2000 models of gold and 
silver wares with the inclusions of precious, semi-precious and artificial stones 
to its buyers and the connoisseurs of art. The production of decorations for 
women and mea for children and teenagers, unique and everyday things 
regarding the latest trends of jeweler fashion has been mastered. The wares 
under the «Giuvaier» trademark have repeatedly participated in different national 
and international exhibitions: «Tybko» (România, 1995 and 1996), «The Industry 
of Moldova» (1995, Tyumen), «CIS – Paris» (1995), the annual «Jeweler» fair 
(Moscow), the annual exhibition «Made in Moldova». 
Designed and produced by modern masters, jeweler decorations make 
the vivid example of professionalism – the decorative expressiveness of form, 
the skilful application of various techniques and materials, the originality of 
color combinations and the fili-gree placing of decorative patterns. Each jeweler 
is a romantic in his nature, therefore stones are music for him, and the metal, in 
which they are framed, is the dance. Uniting, they create the masterpiece of 
grace and high art. 
 
 
CONDRATICOVA,  L., (2010) Modern Jewelry Art of Moldova,  
Revista Roamneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, Year 2, No. 4, August, pp : 73-78Revista Româneasc  pentru 
Educa ie Multidimensional  
 
 
78 
 
References 
 
Anuarul ora ului Chi in u. (1924). Chi in u  i jude ele din Basarabia. 
Chi in u: Edi ia  .  apocinik.  
Catalogul Atelierelor Arhiepiscopiei. (1940). Chi in u: Arhiepiscopia 
Chi in ului, 30 p. 
Condraticova, L. (2008). Orfevr ria laic   i bisericeasc  din Basarabia în 
secolul XIX, în: „History and Politics”. Revist  de istorie  i politic . ULIM. Chi in u,  
An. I, Nr. 1-2, p. 185-192. 
Condraticova, L. (2009). Activitatea atelierului de confec ionare a 
articolelor de bijuterii din Chi in u în anii 1966–1972, în: Tyragetia, Chi in u: 
Bons Offices, Vol. III (XVIII), Nr. 2, p. 289-298. 
Nicorici (Condraticova), L. (2008). Activitatea me terilor-bijutieri din 
Moldova din a doua jum tate a secolului XX, în: ARTA, p. 90-109. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
CONDRATICOVA,  L., (2010) Modern Jewelry Art of Moldova,  
Revista Roamneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, Year 2, No. 4, August, pp : 73-78

Activitatea atelierului de confec ionare a articolelor de bijuterii din Chi in u în anii 1966–1972, în: Tyragetia, Chi in u: Bons Offices, Vol.

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