A.Dalheimer & Co was established in Melbourne in 1908 by my grandfather August Dalheimer, himself a fifth generation lapidarist from Idar- Oberstein. My father Gus continued the business and worked together with his father and brother Ernie.

During these early years the firm had cut stones for Dame Mellie Melba, Field Marshall Montgomery and Archbishop Mannix. Many early and latter discoveries of gemstones within Australia were given to the firm for cutting and polishing and evaluation.

I joined the firm in 1969 as an apprentice to my father, and later was sent to Idar – Oberstein to further my knowledge of cutting techniques, returning to Australia in 1973. I continued to work as a cutter and began importing gemstones. During these years I worked within the Australian Sapphire Industry, and in 1988 I was appointed the Workforce Advisor to the Australian Gemstone Industry Association reporting to the Australian Government . I was invited by Nunan Sapphires, Inverell to visit their gem cutting factory established in Sri Lanka, and advise on methods to increase their productivity and yields.

I was contracted in 1993 by an Idar- Oberstein based firm to establish a gemstone wholesaling operation and cutting facility in Bangkok, Thailand, this eventuated in a cutting facility with in excess of 30 cutters and polishers, where my focus was on producing finished gemstones of the highest quality in line with the firm’s stringent QC standards. Frequent trips were undertaken to European gemstone trading centers and to New York, wholesaling gemstones to gemstone dealers, manufacturing jewellers and prestige retail outlets. I remained with the Bangkok firm, which continues today until 1998. From 1998 until 2000 I traded gemstones on my own behalf within the local Bangkok wholesale gemstone community. I returned to Melbourne in 2000 and re-established A.Dalheimer & Co.

As an adjunct to my cutting and polishing, I studied Jewellery Design at R.M.I.T. and graduated in 1999 from the G.I.A. with a Diploma in Jewellery Design.

The firm’s clientele includes many family run retail and manufacturing jewellers, gemstone wholesalers, and other members of the gemstone and jewellery trade who rely on our service and expertise, a reflection of their own commitment to their clients

More History June 12th 1948 - The Argus Weekend maginzine. The Age Newspaper in melbourne was previously called The Argus. In 1948, The Argus did an article about the life of my Grandfather as a jeweller in early Melbourne. You can read the article by following the link below or alternativly you can also download a copy of the original article in PDF format. Coming soon