Stonecutter Gerd Dreher
Gerd Dreher is a dynasty of stone-cutters from the German city of Idar-Oberstein. The first carver in the famous family was Karl Dreher (1861-1943), who passed on his art to his son Hermann.
Hermann Dreher was the first to start cutting precisely precious stones. He worked on his sculptures in plaster, and then carved the most successful version from a precious stone. By the way, several figurines ended up in the collection of the jeweler Faberge, who highly appreciated the skill of his colleague.
Paul, Herman’s son, continued the tradition and in turn passed on his art to his own son Gerd. Gerd is now regarded as the finest stone cutter in the world and is revered and admired for his work.
The figurines of Gerd Dreher amaze with their precision and dynamism.
They seem alive, thanks to plasticity and expressiveness, the finest reproduction of details.
Now Gerd works with the fifth generation of the Dreher family – he passed on the art of “animal stone sculpture” to his son Patrick (born in 1970).
Drehers never copy other people’s work, they always make only their own author’s creations.
For my figures, the masters use a variety of materials – aquamarine, quartz, beryl, obsidian, ruby and many other minerals.
Gerd, for example, loves to work with Brazilian agate from Rio Grande do Sul.
In a year, craftsmen make only 10-12 figurines, the most interesting of which remains in the home collection. And behind the rest there is already a queue of connoisseurs of beauty, collectors, lovers of precious stones. So it’s not easy to get such beauty.