Édouard Jud, the Lausanne goldsmith who defies time
Edouard Jud sitting at his workbench
Self-employed in Lausanne since 1965, Édouard Jud has just celebrated his 92nd birthday. And to hear him tell it, nothing seems able to pull him away from his workbench. “Why do I keep working? Because I love it!” he exclaims with the enthusiasm of a child. In the Jud family, passion for the craft is nothing new: the family boasts seven generations of jewelers, and his son has also carried on the tradition.
An old-school jeweler and goldsmith, Édouard Jud belongs to that lineage of artisans who refuse to compromise: everything is handmade, from design to completion. By his side, his wife Béatrice, whom he married in 1960, has always ensured the smooth running of the workshop. Administration, accounting, communication: she handles everything so that her husband can create in peace.
From St. Gallen to Tanzania
Trained by his father in St. Gallen, and then by a family friend, Édouard Jud soon left Switzerland for an unexpected adventure. His uncle, a missionary priest, invited him to Tanzania to restore abandoned gold chalices. The Archbishop of Dar es Salaam, Msgr. Edgar Maranta, then entrusted him with several precious pieces. In Ndanda, near Mtwara, at the Abbey of the Missionary Benedictines of Saint Ottilien, he set up a small improvised workshop with tools brought from his father’s shop. The African adventure could have lasted longer, but his father’s death in 1956 brought him back to Switzerland to take over the family business.
A career in the service of the great houses
Divine Comedy Egg: 18k yellow gold egg, repoussé and engraved. 3 parts: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. Inside, a three-dimensional 18k gold cross set with sapphires and emeralds. Latin inscription. H: 11 cm
After spending fifteen years as an expert in Geneva, Édouard Jud collaborated with the most prestigious jewelry houses, notably Chopard. In 1964, he set up his own business permanently in Lausanne. Curious about everything, he is constantly perfecting his skills: precious metals, stones, technical enamel work… nothing escapes him. This constant quest for excellence led him, in 1989, to create his first Fabergé-inspired eggs.
From 1998 to 2008, he also enhanced pens for brands such as Caran d’Ache and Aurora, among others. Under his fingers, writing instruments became true jewels, adorned with openwork metal, stones, and enamels. In 2008, he created pens for the IOC for the Beijing Olympic Games.
Eggs, pens, and Art Nouveau
Aurora “1919” Fountain Pen: created to commemorate the birth of the Aurora brand in 1919, 18k white gold, 1,919 natural-colored diamonds and a 1ct old-cut diamond (cabochon).
Even today, Édouard Jud creates commissioned pieces. In his workshop-boutique at 5, Cheneau-de-Bourg, which opened in 2001, his display cases also reveal Art Nouveau-inspired jewelry. “I have always been fascinated by Lalique,” he confides.
He owes his mastery of enamel to a discreet but essential figure: Andrée Peaudecerf, a Genevan from whom he learned a craft that was then on the verge of disappearing.
An award for a living legacy
Snowflake Egg: Cut-out Palladium egg, set with 678 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 10 ct. H: 10 cm
The Igor Carl Fabergé Foundation has awarded him its 2025 International Prize, honoring an artisan capable of single-handedly embodying the techniques and materials of Carl Fabergé’s workshops. His creations (particularly his collection of eggs) utilize a full palette of metals (gold, silver, palladium), precious stones (diamonds, rubies, emeralds, opals, sapphires, turquoises), and rare skills such as champlevé or plique-à-jour enamel.
At 92, Édouard Jud remains a tireless creator, one of the last witnesses to a tradition whose excellence he continues to keep alive, day after day.