„The enthusiasm for the beatuy of gemstones seems to lie in oure genes.“

Over the past 45 years, Stefanie and Bernd Willi Ripp have built up their company into what is regarded today as one of the most modern gemstone cutters. ‘The enthusiasm for the beauty of gemstones seems to lie in our genes’, says Bernd Willi Ripp. ‘The proof of this is our ancestor Otto Bengel’s certifi cate of apprenticeship from the year 1910. At that time, he was already an engraver. It fi lls us with pride to continue this generational contract. And it truly is a wonderful vocation to be allowed to work with these beautiful natural products’. One of the entrepreneur couple’s strengths is the direct and very personal relationships they have with the raw stone suppliers all over the world. ‘Almost every day we sift through batches where we have to quickly decide whether or not they are suitable for us. Often we are the fi rst viewers of these pieces. This kind of purchasing behaviour has enabled us to build up a large and rich stock in all colours. This benefi ts us when specifi c colours are on trend, prices suddenly sky rocket or deposits are almost exhausted. Who would have thought back then when I bought these batches that the markets would develop in this way? The materials all used to seem almost inexhaustible to me. It’s a good thing that we always bought something when there was lots of it available on the market. And our purchasing policy has not changed to this day’. Groh + Ripp can therefore draw on a large stock of gemstone varieties that leave nothing to be desired.

A union for life

Stefanie and Bernd Willi Ripp have created an internationally-successful company from a small gemstone cutting operation. A portrait of an extraordinary couple.

He is only truly happy when he is at his company,” says Stefanie Ripp, of her husband. The success of Groh + Ripp is due in large part to the passion for the products, but also to business management considerations. The profits earned were always invested in new technology and materials, which either found use with goldsmiths and jewellers or served as dials for select watch brands.

Many customer requests could be satisfied from stocks, however, Bernd Willi Ripp was always in search of new, interesting minerals, gemstones, that special something. He still purchases gemstones in a targeted manner to this day. In the case of unusual requests he can resort to his direct contacts with mine owners and suppliers of rough stones. “Depending on the customer request, it may take a while for us to find the matching stone, because obviously nature sets limits from time to time. However, our long-standing business contacts often provide us with privileged access to particular stones,” says Bernd Willi Ripp.

Many stones are bought when they appear on the market — over the course of the years this has resulted in an incredible stock of uncut stones being amassed. This provides the freedom to offer the matching colours for every fashion trend.

Stefanie Ripp became acquainted with the big, wide world at an early age. She maintains numerous friendships with trading partners on every continent, helping to ensure that customers frequently return to Groh + Ripp.

Stefanie Ripp is also passionate about the business, which she has grown up with from a child: her father, Theo Groh, ran an agate cutting operation in Rhaunen, a village in the Hunsrück region, approximately 25 kilometres to the north of Idar-Oberstein. The company supplied many of the companies in the area. At an early age she discovered her love of the treasures of nature and the art of transforming rough stones into perfect forms. She has retained her feel for gemstones acquired from those days and she looks back fondly on the beginnings of the company: when she married Bernd Willi Ripp 41 years ago and he joined the company, in 1973, that was to become Groh + Ripp, the times were difficult and challenging, but also exciting and filled with wonderful moments. Bernd Willi Ripp and his wife were a good team from the word go. Together they travelled to customers, discussed orders and had numerous ideas. Stefanie Ripp was always a good partner and a good team player by his side, not only looking after the day-to-day needs of the company but also taking care of two small children.

To begin with they merely supplied agate to customers in the region. However, Bernd Willi Ripp dreamed of refining the products and expanding the range. He soon obtained meetings with dial manufacturers and received the first job orders.

Gradually the modest workshop evolved into a considerable company — and Groh + Ripp expanded. In 1986 the company relocated to Idar-Oberstein — and this is also where Stefanie Ripp had the idea for a geographical realignment of the company. “Everything in due course,” she says, with a smile. “We always had lots of ideas and gradually implemented these.” Idar-Oberstein has always been a centre of excellence for gemstones and gemstone crafts — in other words, just the place in which to make new contacts and maintain existing ones.

Stefanie Ripp waxes lyrical when she talks of the business trips with her husband and their daughters, which have influenced them both professionally and in private life — even if the border between work and private life has always been a fluid one for the Ripp family. “The family has always come first with us — and so has the firm,” she says, with a wink.

It is not difficult to see the enthusiasm that the family has for the company. Dealing with the most varied of precious gemstones on a daily basis is both a profession and a passion, many customers and trading partners have long become friends, who treasure the Ripps not only for their expertise and the quality of their products, but also for their warmth and openness.