About O. I. Hjortdahl

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Olaf Fritjof Hjortdahl was born in 1885 in Norway; by the time he was 20, he was training under Clement Berg as a silversmith. Among his peers at the bench were names that would also become known in the trade, like Aksel Holmsen and Ole Olberg. Nine years later, in 1914, he moved to Oslo and found work in the workshop of Bernard Meldahl, where he focused on enamel jewelry.<br><br> That workshop changed direction in 1931 when Meldahl left. Olaf kept it going under his own name, O.F. Hjortdahl. The pieces that came out of his shop in the following years were admired for their precise workmanship and their use of enamel that let the etched designs underneath show through. One well-known example is the Norwegian Silver & Enamel Butterfly Brooch, produced sometime between 1935 and 1940.<br><br> Olaf continued working until his death in 1954, after which his son Tore carried the name forward. The Hjortdahl workshop finally closed in 1970, but by then it had built a reputation for blending careful traditional technique with a lighter, more expressive touch. Collectors still seek out the brooches and other enamel pieces, drawn to the balance of craft and delicacy that defined Olaf’s work.