Second Generation - Maria Gathmann: Preservance in difficult times

On one of his trips to South America Wilhelm Gathmann was accompanied by his daughter Maria who had joined the company. In Caracas she met Karl Schütz, who worked as a manager at Gathmann Hermanos. They fell in love and married in 1932 in Pforzheim.

Karl Schütz took over the company and began exporting to new areas such as Australia and New Zealand. World War II stopped his efforts and Karl Schütz died in action in Russia. The City of  Pforzheim was completely destroyed.

After the war Maria Schütz struggled to survive and to save the company for her three sons. Help came from her cousin Hans Gathmann, who arrived from Venezuela in 1948 with export orders. In the ruins of Pforzheim he and Maria were able to locate his former suppliers. His orders gave the jewellery industry its first encouragement after the war.