Geneva, Switzerland

Advancing the Heritage of Armenians in Jewellery

About Us
  • Board of Trustees

    The Armenian Jewellers Foundation was officially launched in Geneva, Switzerland, on August 16, 2013.

     

         
  • Mission

    The Armenian Jewellers Foundation is an exciting new effort that will explore the global heritage of jewellery, discover key jewellers and their contribution to the industry and provide funds to establish educational programs and scholarship programs for young emerging jewellers from all over the world.
  • Initiatives

    AJF plans to implement a number of initiatives in 2016 promoting Armenian jewellery heritage and providing scholarships to deserving young students.
  • Scholarship Program

    AJF launched its pilot scholarships program in 2014 thanks to an agreement signed with the Armenian Gemological Laboratory and Academy (AGLA) to fund gemological training for young Armenian students.
  • 100th Anniversary

    AJF sponsored and managed the publication, for the first time, of Miller’s collection catalogue and promote exhibits in 2015 and 2016. The inaugurating event was held on April 27, 2015 in St-Petersburg, with plans for further exhibits in Moscow, Yerevan, as well as in Europe and North America. 
Digital Library
  • Armenian Master Silversmiths by Osep Tokat

    AJF is proud to announce the launch of its Digital Library project dedicated to the history of Armenian jewellery art.
  • Armenian Master Silversmiths Book Review by Jack Ogden

    Tokat’s “profound fondness for silver” was prompted by what he calls “a handful of delicate Armenian artworks” that his parents had somehow managed to hold onto when they survived the Armenian genocide of 1915.

  • Treasures of Western Armenia

    Once in a lifetime, we come across an exceptional project; the publication and exhibition of the Treasures of Western Armenia is such an undertaking
Discover
  • Armenian Jewellery Heritage

    As we look back in time, there is a story to be told about every object, every road and every person. For the foundation, retracing the history of jewels and gems and the priceless objects on which they were adorned will allow us to look into a history that is rich with tales of love, loss and loyalty. 
  • History of Armenian Jewellery

    Since the dawn of civilization the art of jewellery making has been essential to man’s social development. Thousands of years ago communities would mine metals and then produce and trade jewellery of all types to the surrounding communities.
  • Today’s Prominent Jewellers

    Throughout history, jewellery masters have lived and worked in major city centers of the world, significantly contributing to the development of the global jewellery and gems industry. 
Study
  • AJF's Pilot Scholarship Program

    AJF launched its pilot scholarships program in 2014 thanks to an agreement signed with the Armenian Gemological Laboratory and Academy (AGLA) to fund gemological training for young Armenian students.A
  • Yearly Grants

    SCHOALRSHIPS PROGRAM 2015 
    AJF TO AWARD EDUCATIONAL GRANTS IN DIAMOND GRADING
Sponsor
  • Become a Friend

    Become a Friend of the Armenian Jewellers Foundation and gain the opportunity to receive updated information about our recent discoveries and have the opportunity to be involved in Foundation Activities and Events.

    Your involvement as a Friend to the Foundation will make a difference and will help create a community that will allow the Foundation to prosper.
  • Fundraising Initiatives

    Franck Muller Limited Edition Watches

    The Foundation’s first fundraising effort is made possible thanks to the generous support of Mr. Vartan Sirmakes, CEO of Franck Muller Geneva, who offered to manufacture a special limited series of Franck Muller watches celebrating the Armenian Alphabet. These watches will be given as a memento to the Foundation’s patrons whose contributions will provide start-up funds for education and research activities.
  • Current Patrons

    Become a Patron of the Armenian Jewellers Foundation and gain the opportunity to acquire unique gifts and get recognition for your contributions in all the Foundation’s publications.

    Your support as a Patron to the Foundation will make a difference and will shed light on a rich history and help educate the young jewellers of the future.
news

ARARAT ESKIJIAN MUSEUM HOSTS EXHIBIT & SEMINAR

Published : Sunday, October 25, 2015
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On Sunday, October 25, the Ararat-Eskijian Museum hosted "Treasures of Western Armenia: A Conference on Material Culture & Genocide in Western Armenia," in collaboration with AJF and the prestigious Boston-based National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR).

The event was part of the 100th Anniversary initiatives organized by the Museum and aimed at furthering the dialogue on the loss of material culture following the Medz Yeghern. The Ararat Eskijian Museum retains one of the most important ethnographic collections and libraries in the US, which often serves as reference resource for filmmakers and designers. The Museum is run by veteran conservationist, Ms. Maggie Goschin.
The seminar's main keynote speaker was historian and renowned Genocide expert Dr. Rouben Adalian, who also serves as the director of the Armenian National Institute (ANI) in Washington, DC.  His opening speech "Effects of Genocide on Culture and Civilization in Western Armenia" laid the framework to the question regarding loss of cultural traditions following widespread massacres and uprooting of entire societies. His lecture reviewed the various approaches to this study and presented key arguments. Being one of the main centers for the 100th
Anniversary initiatives, Dr. Adalian also touched upon the many undertakings that characterized the year.     
Among other speakers, Armenian Rugs Society President and famous textiles expert Mr. Hratch Kozibeyokian spoke about "Armenian Design Patterns Across Various Arts," discussing the origin of design patterns and their use in various fields of arts and crafts, mainly in jewellery and carpets. 
With the recent publication of the Treasures of Western Armenia catalogue in Yerevan, Pierre Akkelian was invited to present AJF's collaborative project with the Russian Museum of Ethnography, which was meant to raise public awareness of Russian ethnographer A. A. Miller's expedition and collection of historic items used by ordinary people in Western Armenia as the genocide was taking place in 1916. 
 
Mr. Akkelian shared not only the brief history behind the painstaking efforts by Miller and his team in collecting objects representing Western Armenian daily life, but also the story about how the Armenian Jewellers Foundation learned about these artifacts and the expedition photos, which were kept mostly unseen and unpublished in the Russian museum's storage rooms for 95 years. AJF published the impressive catalogue in time for the centennial commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, and thanks to the Foundation's efforts and funding, the Russian Museum of Ethnography in St. Petersbourg was able to exhibit the entire collection for the very first time. 
 
During a reception in the Deukmejian Banquet Hall, guests viewed historical artifacts, jewellery, and Armenian costumes from their respective regions, all from the ethnographic collection of the Ararat-Eskijian Museum.
 


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