Signed ORB modernist silver jewelry

Signed ORB modernist silver jewelry
Born into a large family of farmers, Otto Robert Bade (1921-2019) might have become a farmer himself in his native Nebraska, if not for an accident. A trip of 20-year-old Bade to his grandfather in New York in 1940 radically changed the life and destiny of the young man.

The talented self-taught jeweler began his first steps as an apprentice in the jewelry workshop of the legendary Frank Rebajes. Working in his workshop in the 1940-60s, the silversmith became a key figure and created many unique designs under the Rebajes brand. It was during this period that Rebajes’ business began to expand and flourish.
In the late 1950s, Francisco Rebajes moved away from the jewelry business, becoming interested in sculpture, and Otto Bade took over the company, continuing the Rebajes legacy. While maintaining the brand’s modernist style, he also brought his own creative ideas to it.

Notably, in 1958, Otto R. Bade launched his own line of jewelry, Orb Originals, branding it with his initials ORB.
In 1981, the no longer young Otto and his wife Dae moved to New Hope, Pennsylvania, where he opened ORB Jewelers on Main Street.
Otto Robert Bade died at the age of 97, in Pennsylvania, in 2019.

Signed ORB modernist silver jewelry