A.E. Köchert
A.E. Köchert of Austria is run by the 7th generation of the Köchert family. The archives allow us to trace the history of the company. Emanuel Pioté arrived in Vienna from Limoges via Pforzheim early in the 19th Century and set up his workshop registering his mark in 1814. Five years later in 1819 he employed Jacob Heinrich Köchert who had apprenticed as a goldsmith in Latvia before travelling to St Petersburg to work. Köchert ended up marrying the sister of Pioté’s wife. They messed and created a style part French, Austrian and Russian. In 1825 Köchert became a partner and it was renamed Pioté et Köchert. In 1831 they received their first Imperial commission from Emperor Franz I. Pioté et Köchert then became the ‘Imperial and Royal Court Jewellers’. In 1844 Jacob’s son Alexander joined his father in the firm and four years later, he became his father’s business partner on the retirement of Pioté and was highly skilled as a master jeweler. Over the years Alexander (1825-1879) assumed leadership as his father spent less time in the business. When Jacob passed away in 1868 Alexander was granted the Royal title. He registered his own maker’s mark (his initials AEK – which is still used today). The 1873 World Fair in Vienna was hugely successful for Köchert. Alexander’s son Heinrich (1854 – 1908) had been working for his father for several years when a hiking accident resulted in Alexander’s death in 1879. Heinrich ran the business successfully and his brother Theodor (1859 – 1936) joined the family firm in 1882. Together they grew the business and moved to Neuer Markt 15 in the center of Vienna. Heinrich passed away in 1908 leaving Theodore to run the business alone. His son Erich (1882 – 1949) joined his father in 1916 becoming partner and his younger brother Wilfried started work as an apprentice with the firm in 1922. Erwin Lang, Erich and Wilfried’s half brother also pushed the company along. Erich’s son Gotfrid inherited his father’s share of the business in 1949 and was joined by his cousin Dietrich (Wilfried’s son) to move the company forward. Their grandchildren Christoph, Wolfgang, and Florian run the business.
