Swedish jeweler Gustav Dahlgren

Swedish jeweler Gustav Dahlgren
The history of G. Dahlgren & Co, one of the oldest Swedish companies for the production of gold and silver products, spans more than a century. According to Ernst Fischer’s publication on the history of silver and gold production in Sweden, the company began operations in 1845. Gustav Dahlgren, in partnership with the Gold Goods Share Company, founded Guldvaruaktiebolaget G Dahlgren & Co in 1845, merging the two workshops located in the Oxie area in the southeast of Malmö Municipality, Sweden. Later, a branch of Dahlgren & Co also appeared in Stockholm.

Born in 1815, Gustav Dahlgren was a successful businessman, jeweler and philanthropist. He died in 1875 due to a serious illness. In fact, he did not have a family and children who could be the direct heirs of his business. However, his siblings continued the activities of the company, which went through ups and downs, a change in ownership and, accordingly, a change in product labeling.
So, early jewelry marking included “G A Dahlgren”, then “GD&CO” (Gustav Dahlgren & Co). Noteworthy, Swedish silver and gold products have special markings that include several symbols. G A Dahlgren marking, in particular, included M (city mark for Malmö), 3 crowns (Sweden), S mark (in hexagon indicating 830 silver or higher), and some numbers indicating the year of manufacture. For example, “D9” (for 1954), E9 (1955), V9 (1971), etc.

Swedish jeweler Gustav Dahlgren