ManufacturerSwedish
C.G. Hallberg
2 active items
Carl Gustaf Hallberg established his workshop at Fredsgatan 6 in Stockholm in 1860, beginning what would become one of Sweden's most significant silver and goldsmith enterprises. Born in 1824, Hallberg had trained as a journeyman under the jeweler and art collector Christian Hammer before striking out on his own. From 1864, his works carried the CGH stamp that would become a hallmark of quality in Swedish metalwork.
In 1879, Hallberg handed the business to his shop manager Jean Jahnsson, who proved to be a transformative leader. Jahnsson restructured the firm in 1896 as C.G. Hallbergs Guldsmedsaktiebolag and secured the appointment as Royal Court Supplier (Kunglig Hovleverantör) that same year. A large factory was built on Bergsgatan in Stockholm, where craftsmen produced everything from gold diadems set with diamonds to silver coffee services and nickel silver household items. By the 1920s, the company employed around 600 people, many of them trained goldsmiths, making it the largest jeweler in Scandinavia.
The firm attracted leading Swedish designers. Ferdinand Boberg, the architect behind the Stockholm Exhibition of 1897, created silver pieces for Hallberg that earned the firm multiple Grand Prix medals at international exhibitions. Elis Bergh, who joined as artistic director, shaped the company's output during the Swedish Grace and Art Deco periods of the 1920s and 1930s. His silver-plated lamps and candelabra helped define the Swedish Grace aesthetic, and his work for Hallberg received a gold medal at the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs. The firm also produced pewter pieces during the 1930s and 1940s that are now sought after by collectors of Scandinavian modernist design.
Among C.G. Hallberg's most enduring products is the "Prins Albert" cutlery pattern in 830 silver, which remained in production for decades and continues to appear frequently at auction. The firm's output ranged across tableware, jewelry, lighting, and decorative objects, with Art Nouveau table lamps from around 1900 representing some of its most distinctive early work.
In 1961, C.G. Hallberg merged with Guldsmedsaktiebolaget (GAB), consolidating two of Sweden's major metalwork firms. At the time of the merger, Hallberg still operated 31 shops across Sweden with a global export network. The company lives on today as Hallbergs Guld, a retail jewelry chain, though it is the firm's earlier craft production that draws collectors.
On the Nordic auction market, C.G. Hallberg silver appears regularly across Swedish auction houses, with 112 items recorded in our database. The firm's pieces surface most often through Gomér & Andersson in Nyköping, Stockholms Auktionsverk Magasin 5, and Crafoord Auktioner in Stockholm. Silver and metals dominate the category breakdown, alongside rings, lighting, and candlesticks. Top results include a 92-piece "Prins Albert" cutlery service that sold for 64,111 EUR, a pocket watch chain in 18k gold at 21,337 SEK, a 1920s silver coffee service at 12,100 SEK, and a Swedish Grace lamp from the 1930s at 8,526 SEK.