Born in Bratislava in 1819, Hermann Ratzersdorfer moved to Vienna at the beginning of the 1840s, where he started working as a silversmith. He specialised in silver and gold objects of vertu, tableware and jewellery, often enamelled and decorated in the style known as Historicism. He was also acclaimed for his rock crystal objects.
In 1843 he registered his first mark; two years later he exhibited at the Viennese Trade exhibition and in 1851 he participated at the London Exhibition winning a medal for a beautifully ornate toilet glass. Four years later he won the second prize at the Paris Exhibition and in 1871, at the London Exhibition, he was given a diploma of honor and praised for its colorful creation in the neo-Renaissance style (Strong Roy, The collector's encyclopedia, Victoriana to Art Deco, Studio Editions, 1990, p.224).
When he retired in 1881, his son Julius took over the business.
Nowadays Hermann Ratzersdorfer’s enamelled pieces, often combining precious metals and rock crystal, are sought after by international collectors.