Jeweller Skrein in Vienna: A success story with a new chapter

The successful Skrein jewelry store in Vienna has undergone a generational change. The new managing director, Marie Skrein, took the opportunity to share her philosophy with invited guests and offer insights into the workshop.

Left: The new managing director and designer Marie Skrein.

It is always very inspiring to experience people who are firmly anchored in their niche in life, who deeply identify with what they do and who pass on some of this positive energy.

This is also clearly evident in Marie Skrein, who officially succeeded her father, founder Alexander Skrein, in April, becoming the second generation to run the business. Marie Skrein describes the Jewelers Skrein business as a hybrid of goldsmith and gallery. She designs and crafts jewelry herself, but also showcases other designs by independent artists.

As she introduces herself and shares her personal history with jewelry and her approach to work, one quickly realizes that straightforwardness and conventionality don't always lead to success. Quite the opposite: the courage to break with certain norms and forge one's own path becomes the core of a strong identity. It attracts people and strengthens them for the future. 

Visions and dreams, far from straightforwardness

The story of Skrein Jewelers, founded by Alexander Skrein, also began rather unconventionally. As his daughter and new managing director recounts: "My father had a large jewelry company with ten people just packing. The jewelry was simply packaged. Nothing was beautiful, my father said."

According to Marie Skrein, he described his vision of a fulfilling business as “a place where there is beautiful jewelry, where I can drink coffee and read the newspaper.”

The new managing director explains that it was just a hobby for a long time. The money from the established company flowed into the jewelry business for a long time—almost too long. But Alexander Skrein was able to assert himself with his vision.

“After seven years, my father closed the other company because he only wanted to do what he enjoyed.”

What's special about SKREIN: Founder Alexander Skrein isn't a goldsmith himself, yet he's managed to create a place that stands for genuine craftsmanship and distinctive design. Marie Skrein emphasizes:

"This is a story that touches me and influences me with every step I take. It showed me that you don't need a straight path, a normal biography, to create something that can be truly good."

Mediator between people and jewelry

Marie Skrein's story, which she herself connects with jewelry, began in her childhood. The unconventional approach to thinking, designing, and perceiving jewelry was practically instilled in her from birth. 

"I grew up with jewelry. Jewelry, and especially our store on Spiegelgasse, is a part of my identity," she says, describing what makes a piece of jewelry from the Skrein family special:

"It's something that arouses curiosity. Something you don't immediately understand at first glance, or something that makes you wonder why we're doing it. A memory from my childhood is people literally coming in off the street to say that you can't make jewelry like that. That's something that only strengthened our resolve."

Even today, Marie Skrein approaches things a little differently. "I don't see myself as a designer," she explains, "but as a mediator between jewelry and people." She focuses on how to bring a gemstone, a ring, or a specific idea together with the person so that they are a perfect match. 

Her designs are therefore also developed through conversations with her clients. She prefers to forgo drawings and instead describes to the person sitting across from her what the piece of jewelry will look like. It's definitely her intention that people wonder what goes on in Skrein's goldsmith workshop.

"I want people to be a little bit amazed by what's happening here. That they understand it over the course of the conversation and then participate because it's exciting—and at the end, leave the store with a piece of jewelry that they, or someone else, will wear for a very long time."

History of a successful generational change

Unfortunately, a successful generational transition in a jewelry store is no longer a given these days – the world is too big, and the opportunities for young people to develop are too diverse. However, everything worked out for the Skrein family. Marie Skrein's sister was also relieved when she decided to follow in her father's footsteps. Her statement captures a sentiment that many can probably relate to. 

“Thank God you took over the company, because I couldn’t walk past that store and have someone else there.”

Marie Skrein becomes emotional and confirms: "This place is home. We were here as children, we felt the atmosphere, we went into the workshop, and back then, against the rules, flattened pennies with our master." This memory makes Marie Skrein laugh: "So I was four or five when I started making small pieces."

Marie Skrein completed an apprenticeship as a goldsmith, more of a safety net for her, as at that time it wasn't yet clear whether she would take over the company. Therefore, Marie Skrein's CV also includes a law degree and training as a psychotherapist, in addition to training as a gemologist at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

It is this blend of experience and skills that gives Marie Skrein her comprehensive view of jewelry – and a deep appreciation for her work.

Marie Skrein believes she's settled into a ready-made nest, but at the same time sees it as a challenge to continue running a company that's doing so well. In 2017, however, Alexander Skrein once considered selling the business; his daughter's request may have come as a bit of a surprise. After that, however, Skrein remained in family hands, and Marie Skrein was gradually involved in more and more areas of responsibility. The generational change was therefore not a leap into the deep end. Marie had already been part of the management team since 2021.

Jewelry that touches and moves

For Marie Skrein, jewelry isn't just about how beautiful it is, but also about the people behind it. This applies to visible and identifiable things, such as recycled gold, which the jeweler has been working with since 2013, but also to invisible things, such as the goldsmiths who craft the jewelry and their living and working situations. 

This is important because Skrein Jewelers also sells jewelry from other independent artists in the store. Marie Skrein avoids products from Asian countries like Thailand, as the often highly opaque nature of the process prevents her from guaranteeing fair working conditions for the people there.

Marie Skein repeats Skrein’s leitmotif again and again during her lecture:

"We make what we like and hope others like it too. If we don't like something, we don't compromise, because then the jewelry has no power. We'd rather accept that some people might not like it either."

The fun part has to be there. In addition to classic goldsmithing techniques like working with wax models, Skrein has also dabbled in modern techniques like 3D jewelry models. These are used sparingly, always in combination with real handcrafting. Marie Skrein doesn't want pure 3D models of jewelry: "There's a lack of warmth, and you can feel it. You can calculate all sorts of dimensions and shapes. But you can't calculate emotions."

Thanks to Marie Skrein's influence, many designs featuring select colored gemstones have found their way into the collections. The managing director and designer's inspiration often comes from everyday life—for example, a colorful popsicle.

“It’s important to me that the piece of jewelry has character and is ultimately a quiet companion, never intrusive.”

In the end, Marie Skrein's winding life path, which also includes psychotherapy, has found a perfect conclusion in her work. "I often hear that the conversations are very similar to psychotherapy. What's special is that at the beginning, two, sometimes three people are complete strangers, and within a short time, a space develops in which the distance is overcome and trust develops. This results in pieces of jewelry that can truly touch and that you enjoy wearing."

Currently, Skrein Jewelers' offerings are split between approximately 40 percent studio jewelry and 60 percent custom-made pieces. In keeping with the family philosophy, any jewelry that isn't to our liking is melted down without compromise and transformed into new, fascinating works of art.