As the owner of the goldsmith’s shop Diamond, representative in the Zagreb City Council, where he is president of the Economic Development Committee and vice-president of the Finance Committee, Vlado Crkvenac nurtures the craftwork tradition every day in his work.
After years of training under famous Zagreb goldsmiths and ten years of experience, in 1979 Vlado Crkvenac set up the goldsmith’s shop Diamond at Gajeva 4, in the very center of Zagreb. As the head of the goldsmiths’ guild and president of the master examination committee, he granted goldsmith’s workshop licenses, and was himself awarded the artistic craft status in 1994.
Since 1992 he has also been working as a jewelry appraisal expert, and he passed all his knowledge and love of goldsmithery and jewelry making on to his family. His wife Ksenija Crkvenac is an excellent jewelry presenter; his daughter Sandra is a master goldsmith and a professional gemologist, and his son a master goldsmith and specialist in CMS laser engraving. They are both jewelry appraisal experts as well, and in early 2016 they were made equal partners in the family business.
Apart from a rich collection of unique pieces of jewelry, they make jewelry to order. They also produce replicas of antique jewelry and offer repair services. In addition to making all kinds of engravings, they offer the possibility of setting in real, synthetic, and artificial gemstones.
Photo: Goran Stanzl/PIXSELL
They specialize in handwork, and, after her training in Germany, Sandra is proud of her unusual calling as a gemologist, an evaluator of gemstones, diamonds and pearls. As one of the few women in this profession, Sandra explains how difficult it is to be a woman in the jewelry evaluating business. It entails the identification and evaluation of diamonds and pearls, and requires continuous education and development.
For his dedicated work in jewelry making as well as his involvement with crafts associations, Vlado Crkvenac has received awards from the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts, the City of Zagreb Trades and Crafts Association, and the City of Zagreb, among others the Golden Hands – the highest award the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts gives in recognition of an individual’s work and the promotion of crafts.
