Joao Cesar, a leading Baltimore jeweler who practiced his craft for more than 60 years, died earlier this year, on March 31. He was 84.
Born in Brazil, Cesar learned the jewelry trade from Alfredo Reis, a skilled mechanic and welder who was a Holocaust survivor from Czechoslovakia.
In 1965, Cesar moved to New York City, where he worked for such leading jewelers as Tiffany & Co., Cartier, Kurt Wayne, and David Webb. In 1974, he relocated to Baltimore to work for Dahne & Weinstein Jewelers. In 1984, he opened Joao Cesar Jewelers, which he ran until his passing.
“He was like a ‘jewelry engineer,’” says Cesar’s daughter, Adriana. “He never rejected any project. He took any project that came into the shop, big or small. He was a tinker and tried to fix it or make it wearable again.”
Cesar is survived by Adriana and his wife, Maria Otilia.
(Photo courtesy of Joao Cesar Jewelers)
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