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

"MUSEUM EXHIBITS ARMENIAN ARTIFACTS A CENTURY AFTER RESCUE BY RUSSIANS"

Published : Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Back to News Section

The following article by renowned Diasporan columnist Harut Sassounian appeared in the recent issue of the California Courier. Mr. Sassounian was one of the special guests at the inauguration ceremony of the Treasures of Armenia catalogue and exhibit in Saint Petersburg on April 27, 2015. As the publisher of the California Courier, a weekly paper in print since 1958, Mr. Sassounian's columns reflect critical developments in Armenia and the Diaspora.   

On my way back from the Centennial events in Yerevan last week, I stopped in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to attend the inauguration of an unprecedented exhibit of Armenian artifacts rescued by Russian ethnographers from Western Armenia during the Genocide. 
 
Here is the incredible background story of that unique exhibit. In 1916, during the Russian military campaign which temporarily liberated Western Armenia from Ottoman Turkey, Saint Petersburg's Russian Museum of Ethnography sought Czar Nicholas II's permission to dispatch a scholarly expedition to the Van area to collect Armenian artifacts from imminent loss. The Czar gave immediate consent in his handwriting: "Approve. Need to hurry." 
 
A small team of ethnographers led by Alexander Miller arrived in Van on June 10, 1916, after a lengthy and perilous journey. During their two-week stay, they managed to purchase from local inhabitants a total of 513 objects: 396 Armenian, 110 Assyrian, 5 Kurdish, and 2 Turkish. The artifacts included traditional Armenian costumes, jewelry, and carpets from the City of Van, the towns of Alur, Bitlis, Moks, Mush, Shatakh, and neighboring villages. During their visit, the scholars took 60 photographs of natural landscapes, historical monuments, buildings, and some residents. All of these materials were hauled back to Saint Petersburg under the protection of the Russian military.
 
Surprisingly, these painstakingly-collected cultural objects remained in the Russian museum's basement for 100 years and were never displayed! No one seemed to remember their existence, until two years ago, when Armenia's Consul General Vardan Hakopyan in Saint Petersburg learned about these artifacts and informed the authorities in Armenia, local community leaders, and the Armenian Jewelry Association. 
 
After extensive joint efforts between the Armenian Jewelers Foundation and the Russian Museum of Ethnography, the items that were kept in storage for a century were finally put on display in Saint Petersburg last week. The Jewelers Foundation and the Russian Museum published an impressive catalog titled, "Treasures of Western Armenia," which showcased the artifacts collected from the region of Van in 1916, before its recapture and genocidal destruction by Ottoman Turkish forces. 
 
The exhibit was officially opened on April 27, 2015, at the Russian Museum of Ethnography. It was attended by Vigen Sargsyan, the Armenian President's Chief of Staff, Olga Kazanskaya, Vice Governor of Saint Petersburg, Vladimir Grusman, Director of Russian Museum of Ethnography, Pierre Akkelian, Chairman of Armenian Jewelers Foundation, Gagik Gevorkyan, President of Armenian Jewelry Association, and Karen Mkrtchyan, the Armenian community leader of Saint Petersburg. 
 
Not surprisingly, after it became known that the Museum of Ethnography had in its possession valuable artifacts from the Van region, the Consulate of Turkey in Saint Petersburg contacted the Museum claiming that these items are the property of the Turkish Republic and sought their return. The Museum's leadership rejected the Turkish request as the objects were purchased from their owners in 1916.
 
It is ironic that Turkish diplomats had the audacity to request these Armenian artifacts, after having killed their owners, burned their homes, and stolen their possessions! One would hope that the Turkish government would be foolish enough to go ahead and file a lawsuit against the Russian Museum, trying to claim these items. Such a lawsuit would further publicize Turkish responsibility for the Armenian Genocide, the looting of Armenian cultural objects, and occupation of their ancestral homeland! 
 
One hundred years later, another expedition should be dispatched to Turkish museums and libraries to locate and recover all Armenian artifacts, manuscripts and other valuable items plundered during the Genocide. Lawsuits should be filed against all Turkish institutions holding such Armenian materials. If local Turkish courts reject the demand, Armenians should then appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in order to recover these long lost and precious fragments of Armenian cultural heritage. Such a legal effort would be yet another means of seeking restitution for the massive Genocide-era losses suffered by Armenians a century ago! 
 
The Russian Museum's remarkable exhibit should go on tour to Armenian communities around the world: Athens, Beirut, Berlin, Boston, Buenos Aires, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, Moscow, New York, Paris, Tehran, Toronto, San Francisco, San Paulo, Sydney, Yerevan and many other cities. Let the world see a small sampling of the vast quantities of valuable cultural artifacts that the Armenian nation lost during the Genocide in addition to the 1.5 million human souls.
Videos Publications Gallery Contacts Sign Up !
Follow us on
© 2016 AJF Foundation. All Rights Reserved