Company history
1848 Great ideas were born. Paulskirche (St. Paul's Church) in Frankfurt 1848 Great ideas were born.
In Germany, a democratic system came into being: In 1848, the first freely-elected national assembly convened.
In the same year, Johann Strauß composed the "Radetzkymarsch" and the first German women's magazine was published.
And for Wilhelm Weitz, too, a new era began. He started his business in Bad Pyrmont where he offered ivory carvings and glass engravings to the patients from the local health resort.
Only five years later, Wilhelm Weitz, a dynamic business man, expanded his business and added selected glass and crystalware to the range of products.
In these days, the so-called artistic glasses made of alabaster glass with gold decorations and colourful paintings were particularly sought-after.
1892 Hanover discovers the elegancy of glass and china
To satisfy the customers' individual desires, also a glass grinding and polishing workshop belonged to the W. Weitz company which quickly became famous as "Cristallerie W. Weitz" – not only within the borders of the city located on the river Leine.
Only a few years later, again a new era began: The "Cristallerie" developed into the "Spezialgeschäft für Kristall, Glas und Porzellan W. Weitz" – and the business structure which is still effective today was established.
1910 Karl May
Karl May was just having his biggest success with "Winnetou", Emil Nolde completed his "Abendmahl" (The Last Supper)… while the W. Weitz company could also look back on a successful history.
In
- Hamburg (1904)
- Düsseldorf (1907)
and - Copenhagen (1910),
additional specialty shops were established. Branches in
- Norderney
- in Westerland, Sylt
and - Bad Nauheim
added the finishing touches to this pleasant picture. Moreover, close connections to all important china manufacturers all over Europe had long been established.
Thus, also for W. Weitz, the Golden Twenties were a highly successful period.
1950 A successful new beginning
Weimar Republic, National Socialism, reconstruction – eventful times which had left their mark.
In 1929, Friedrich Weitz passed away so that it was now up to Walter Weitz to cope with the difficult years of economic crisis, war and reconstruction.
However, a strong will, a good deal of optimism and a "crystal clear" awareness of the market and its demands rapidly led to an economic revival and commercial success.
The economic miracle made by W. Weitz:
The export share of the turnover continuously increased and the exclusive selection of glass, crystal, china, stoneware and cutlery succeeded again.
The new building on Georgstraße was – when opened in 1950, 2 years after the 100th anniversary of the company – a respectable symbol for this new beginning.
Who would be surprised to hear that Hildegard Knef, in Germany simply known as "die Knef", had already been a customer of W. Weitz at that time
1998 The 150th anniversary of a great idea
The German reunification, computers conquer the world; and on the internet, the information superhighway, data start to race around the globe.
The future of the W. Weitz company began in 1997 in the re-designed building at the old location.
Jürgen Weitz, Sr. and Jürgen Weitz, Jr. had recognised the signs of the times and consequently focused on the most important aspects: In the new old house, the first-class assortment of goods could be arranged more clearly and thus be presented even more customer-friendly.
Now there was enough room for special presentations as well as the opportunity to provide competent and custom-tailored advice.
In 1998 – two years prior to the Expo 2000 in Hanover – W. Weitz celebrated its 150th anniversary.
One thing is beyond question: Tradition, present and future will remain predominant in the W. Weitz philosophy for the next millennium so that discerning customers all over the world may enjoy stylish glass- and chinaware.
