Kollmar & Jourdan, Germany's top jewelry maker, driven into insolvency by its bank in 1977

Kollmar & Jourdan AG was a major German jewelry manufacturer based in Pforzheim, the historic center of the German jewelry industry. Founded in 1885 by Emil Kollmar and Wilhelm Jourdan, it started with six employees making gold-plated nickel chains by hand. Kollmar brought chain-making machines from the United States, enabling mass production of inexpensive doublé (gold-plated) jewelry. By 1889 it had 150 employees and representatives in all European capitals. It converted to a joint-stock corporation in 1898. By 1914 Kollmar & Jourdan employed over 1,700 workers across four factories.

By 1976 it was struggling. It had missed the market shift from doublé to gold and silver designs, continued producing unfashionable inventory, and carried oversized overhead. Turnover had fallen to DM 15.8 million with a DM 2 million loss. The Kollmar family held only 14% of shares; the house bank, Hardy-Sloman Bank GmbH (a Dresdner Bank subsidiary), owned 44% and held the board chair. In September 1977 the bank called in its loans. Kollmar & Jourdan could not repay and filed for insolvency on September 14, 1977. Wages could not be paid, and bankruptcy proceedings opened on November 1, 1977.

Total liabilities hit DM 15.6 million. A going-concern sale failed because the pension fund argued the acquirer would be liable for all obligations — a ruling later overturned, but too late. Operations wound down by mid-1978. Jewelry production was sold to East Germany, chain production to a local firm, the headquarters building for DM 2.6 million. Non-preferential creditors received 96% dividend, prompting commentary that a different bankruptcy law might have saved it. The building still stands as the Kollmar & Jourdan-Haus, now a technical museum and municipal gallery.