Kobler Zug

  • 28. October 2024

A look behind the scenes at Kobler Zug – 80% workload – 100% pay

When the Swiss population was confronted with the extremely complex reform of the BVG on 22 September 2024 and rejected it, we felt vindicated. Politically, these problems are unlikely to be resolved in a timely manner. However, we are convinced that we can contribute to the solution with the work ethic and working conditions in our company.

Working as a goldsmith – a back-breaking job!
After just three to four hours of intensive goldsmithing work at the bench, concentration begins to wane.

After an efficient working day, as only an experienced goldsmith can achieve, which lasts eight to nine hours and requires the highest level of concentration, every skilled worker is first and foremost exhausted and tired.

The process of creating a finished piece of jewellery begins with the careful preparation of the basic materials – a task that can take hours or even days.

Young employees cope with this relatively well and have no problem working 50-60 hours per week. This was no different for us during our apprenticeship and journeyman years. In your younger years, long working hours are often necessary in this industry in order to increase your professional value and continuously improve your craftsmanship. However, we claim, and we speak from experience, that these overtime hours are not really efficient! Simply put, a goldsmith with 30 years of experience can complete a job much faster and with higher quality than employees who only have 10-15 years of experience. We work in a skilled craft profession that is far from being mastered after four years of apprenticeship, let alone able to survive in today’s environment of constant efficiency improvements.

Of course, it is also important to us to support young people and promote goldsmith apprenticeships. The shortage of skilled workers is omnipresent today. Young colleagues also need prospects, including financial ones.

However, for us at Kobler Zug, it makes sense to focus exclusively on experienced employees. This allows us to benefit from the expertise and independence of these skilled workers. As a goldsmith and in the arts and crafts sector in general, it is important to have as many years of experience as possible. In our studio, we mostly work on very complex, costly creations that require many years of experience. We quickly set ourselves the goal of 80 per cent working time with full – i.e. 100 per cent – remuneration. As owners, this was an easy undertaking with the right team.

Working independently, compiling daily tasks ourselves and benefiting from each other as equals in the team – this was our goal. During our working hours, we value constant exchange and learn a lot from each other every day. Our jewellery studio team has now grown to five gold/silversmiths, all over the age of 55, none of whom work more than 34 hours a week and yet still receive full pay.

The working culture at Atelier Kobler Zug is no accident – we create it together, for ourselves and our team.

The course of business over the past three years has shown Bruno and me that this strategy works very well and can be groundbreaking for our industry. It shows young professionals that the goldsmith profession not only has a future, but is also a profession for life. In this way, our work culture can help to offer young people long-term, positive prospects and – thinking even further ahead – address the omnipresent problem of succession.

Manufacturing abroad as an alternative and response to the shortage of skilled workers Many jewellers are now circumventing this problem by having their collections manufactured in Asia, for example. We understand this. However, this is no longer purely for economic reasons. The quality demanded by our customers cannot be produced anywhere in the world at a significantly lower price than here in Switzerland. Rather, the reasons lie in a lack of capacity and, in our opinion, a lack of appreciation for experienced skilled workers.

Four-day week at Kobler Zug
We are proud to be implementing the much-discussed ‘four-day week’ with full conviction, without ‘building in’ additional hours or extending our employees’ working days within these four days.

In this way, we ensure a valuable and respectful working environment, team efficiency and employee resilience. Incidentally, our working conditions also improve their pension funds, namely with an 80% working week, matched by a 100% salary.

Thanks to the introduction of a four-day week, the whole team has enough time for relaxation outside the studio.

With these insights, we would like to offer you, our valued customers, the opportunity to get to know Kobler Zug’s innovative work culture better.

Below, we are pleased to present some special pieces of jewellery that we would not have been able to create without the expertise and experience of our team of goldsmiths.

We look forward to your visit and to presenting these and other exciting new jewellery creations to you.

Come and see us!
Andreas and Bruno Kobler

Handcrafted bracelet in yellow gold with natural-coloured sapphires from Sri Lanka – a project that challenged our creativity and captivated us for over six months. Of course, our customer’s trust played a role here, as he largely left the design and technical implementation to us. This work of art unfolded its true magic thanks to our experienced team.
A unique lagoon-coloured tourmaline, crafted into a handmade platinum ring in close collaboration with our customer. It takes courage to position such a fancy cut so prominently in a ring, but more importantly, it takes experience. This is not the first time our goldsmiths have created such settings.
The finest aquamarine in a drop cut, set in solid platinum – at first, our goldsmith did not even want to reveal the secret of how this relatively fragile gemstone could be set in such a robust setting to our team.
It is the hidden details that transform a piece of jewellery into a true ‘bijou’. Even in a hundred years’ time, it will still be clear that an artist was at work here.
A good eye only develops after years of creative work. Enjoying your work is also an important factor. Would you have spotted comic characters in these baroque, misshapen South Sea pearls?
One of the biggest challenges is to showcase gemstones in a visually appealing and wearable way. ‘TOI ET MOI ring’ set with pink and blue sapphires.
Further entries
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