In 1829, Gottfried Koch opened the Bremen Gold and Silversmiths workshop. Alongside Ludwig Bergfeld, he operated under the name of Koch & Bergfeld. Janesich, who opened in Trieste in 1835, could count the Archduke of Austria, King Nicholas of Montenegro and the Duke of Aosta as some of his clients. 30 years later, in 1865, the second generation of the company’s management enlarged the purely craft operation and expanded the serial production methods. The success of the company led to the construction of a production facility in 1885, which covered 700 square meters of factory space and where 100 employees were now engaged. In 1910, the business, which now had over 600 employees, was supplemented by a large rolling mill for the production of Alpacca sheet silver, which forms the basic material for silver-plated cutlery. This gave rise to a modern electroplating set-up for the silver plating of cutlery and tableware. By 1914, Koch & Bergfeld was exporting into tsarist Russia, Austria, Hungary, Colombia, Venezuela and Scandinavia. In later years, the war and post-war period would place the company in a difficult position – in 1928, the number of employees sank to 90 and the Bergfeld family left the business. Meanwhile, in 1965, the fifth generation Dr. Gottfried Koch took over management of the company. He again placed the artisan tradition of the production of silver tableware (hollowware items) back into the foreground.