Every so often my desire to travel tempted me away from Bern and to various foreign destinations.It was also always my intention to increase my knowledge of the goldsmith’s art and improve my craftwork.

In this way, I came to enroll in the American Institute of Gemology in Los Angeles to carry out an apprenticeship in Gemology. America not only honed my eye for precious stones, but also my interest in a special pearl, namely Yumi, a beautiful Japanese women who has, in the meantime, become my wife and, in this way, Japan also became another of my travel destinations.At first, I approached this new world with some reservations and even some shyness; much time and unobtrusive curiosity are also necessary should one wish to learn the customs and habits of the Japanese.

One thing I realised very quickly. In their arts and crafts, the Japanese can only be described as artists; their purist art continually amazes me and I allow this sense of wonder with an amount of required respect to pass into my own work. This land of smiles enriches my life, in both professional and personal respects.

In order to afford my extended adventures, I always looked for ways to combine travel and work. In this way, I began to purchase pearls for my parents’ firm in Kobe and even worked as a designer and goldsmith in Vancouver, Canada.
By far my most interesting and enjoyable period of employment was with Hans and Maria Brumann in the Philippines, where, in a short period of time, I gained much useful knowledge.
Together with thirty experienced goldsmiths, I was, in the Brumann’s atelier, able to develop my own ideas into actual creations.