About Us

The story of Hazorfim began in Eastern Europe, during the mid 1940's. Yosef Merdinger began learning the skill of silversmithing along sides with his future partners Wilhelm Kerner and Michael Steinmetz, in their hometown Tshernowitz, Romania. After the war in 1947, Yosef Merdinger left his partners, packed his toolbox and headed for the land of Israel. Before the boat reached Israel's shoreline, it was seized by the British, and sent to Cyprus, which served in 1947 as a holding camp for Jews who were caught by the British rulers in an illegal attempt to reach Israel. Yosef continued his artwork on the Cyprus camp, and two years later, in 1949 following the establishment of the state of Israel- he was finally allowed to go there.

Several years later, in 1952, his European partners joined him, and the three of them established a small silversmith workshop, and named it Hazorfim. They started out in the kitchen of one of their homes, mainly creating replicas of classic European designs. Soon enough the three expanded their capabilities, and opened a small workshop in a modest warehouse in the heart of Tel Aviv.

Yakov Merdinger, the son of Yosef, began working at the workshop during his school vacations when he was 8 years old. Some of the beautiful pieces he designed by the age of 13, are still sold today and considered classics. In 1983 the Merdinger family purchased the shares of both partners, and became the company's sole owners. Unfortunately, Yosef Merdinger was struck by a heart attack shortly after this, and passed away in 1984. His son Yakov, at age 27 took upon himself along with his mother Golda, to head up Hazorfim. They had a vision and saw their calling in preserving the art of handcrafted pure silver pieces, a form of art that gradually disappeared from the world. They gathered a group of unique silver artisans from all over the world, each a virtuoso in his field, united for many years in creating contemporary perfect creations, preserving this unique traditional language of the precious metal, with great love and uncompromising professionalism.

In 1994, Hazorfim relocated to its current home in Kfar Daniel, where it continues to thrive today, creating new pieces alongside classic silver creations. Hazorfim has grown steadily from a workshop of 20 silversmiths to a renowned international company with over 200 employees, numerous silver pieces that are sold worldwide, and is considered one of the biggest silversmith workshops in the world