At Campus Idar-Oberstein, we offer 3 courses in gemstone and jewellery. There are 7 further degree courses in jewellery design in Germany, but our department's offer concerning gemstones is unique in the whole world.
In addition to the German-language Bachelor's degree program, there is also a Master's degree program and a Master in further education degree program, both in English. The Master is open to applicants holding a Bachelors degree; The Master in further education is open to experienced craftspeople without a Bachelor's degree.
All courses in gemstone and jewellery are rewarded the degree "Fine Arts". This justifies our explicitly artistic approach and philosophy.
Momentarily about 50 people with about 25 different nationalities are studying at the Gemstone Campus. The maximum occupancy of the department is 72 students. With a team of 4 professors, 5 teaching staff members, about 10 external lecturers and 5 service staff members, intensive guidance is guaranteed. The department has well-equipped studios: Diverse jewellery workshops, a wood workshop, a CAD laboratory, a photo studio, an atelier for painting and sculpting, a library and of course a large gemstone workshop are available to our students 24/7.
history
The department of gemstones and jewellery was founded in 1986 as a "Faculty of Gemstone and Jewellery Design" as a demand of regional politics and industry. Since 2013 we are one of 6 departments within the Faculty of Arts and Design. Within the Faculty it is an outspoken priority to enable interdisciplinary work.
However, due to the 90 km distance from Trier, our 3 degree courses are very specialized and focused upon our field of work.
Xtra...
In addition to studying, the department has many interesting offers: in cooperation with the Jakob Bengel Foundation, the 2-yearly symposium "ThinkingJewellery", the exhibition program "Idar-Oberstein adorned" and an artist-in-residence program. In cooperation with the "Jugendkunstschule" the Youth Art School, our students are actively involved in the cultural and educational offer for young people in the program "Steine.Machen.Schmuck".
The Spanish artist discovered her love of stone during an exchange semester at the Gemstone and Jewellery Campus in Idar-Oberstein.
In SOFT BODIES HARD FEELINGS, Helena Renner deals analytically and emotionally with questions of self-acceptance, identity and visibility - and invites us to renegotiate our own view of the body.
The two outstanding graduates of the Gemstone and Jewellery Campus are among the nine nominees for the Eligius Prize 2025, Austria's most prestigious jewellery award.
In her solo exhibition, Idar-Oberstein graduate Mia Čopíková opens a space for critical material thinking. The pieces on display are not traditional jewelry, but material responses — artifacts made of microwave-born carbide, brooches crafted from worn-out tools, and synthetic stones that ask questions rather than provide answers.
Helena Renner was awarded third place in the Prize of the Bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein for her final thesis.
Nikita Kavryzhkin was honoured with the Herbert Hofmann Prize at IHM 2025. Natascha Frechen receives one of the TALENTEmünchen prizes.
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