Trauringschmiede expands with franchise partner in Bamberg

Trauringschmiede is expanding its network in its anniversary year, with a new store in Bamberg led by franchise partner Marcel Kehne. Founded in 2006, the wedding and engagement ring specialist combines company-owned shops with a franchise model. Trade publication Blickpunkt Juwelier reported on the development on 22 October 2026.

Bamberg extends the established concept

The new Trauringschmiede shop will serve couples planning their weddings in Bamberg and the surrounding Upper Franconia region of Germany. Customers will be able to customise their wedding rings, choosing from a range of materials, shapes and gemstones. The store continues the specialist approach on which the company has built its network: a focus on wedding and engagement rings rather than a general jewellery range.

Marcel Kehne is named as the franchise partner responsible for the store, explicitly placing the Bamberg opening within the franchise side of the business. For those following the German franchise market, this distinction matters: Trauringschmiede is not growing solely through company-owned shops, but also relies on local partners to expand its established concept.

The report does not give a specific opening date for Bamberg. Its wording about serving couples in the near future describes the new shop’s offering, but does not confirm that regular trading has already begun. Interested readers should therefore distinguish between the announced opening and a confirmed first day of trading.

The choice of location has a clearly stated regional focus. The shop aims to attract couples not only from Bamberg itself, but also from Upper Franconia. However, this does not amount to an announcement of wider regional expansion plans. The specific news is the addition of this single partner-operated store.

From a Cologne shop to a network of 39 locations

The company began in 2006 with a small shop in central Cologne. In its report on the 20th anniversary, Blickpunkt Juwelier puts the network at 39 locations. It does not provide a breakdown of how many are company-owned and how many are run by franchise partners.

Nor can a revised total following the Bamberg opening be inferred from that figure. The number 39 reflects the network as described in the anniversary report; whether Bamberg is already included remains unclear. It would therefore be unjustified to increase the total to 40 shops.

What is clear is that the two operating models coexist. Both company-owned and franchised stores form part of Trauringschmiede’s model. Bamberg shows that the partner-operated side of the business is continuing to expand in the anniversary year. The news therefore records a concrete expansion step, rather than simply a general ambition to grow as the company marks its anniversary.

Anniversary celebration brings partners and manufacturers together

Trauringschmiede celebrated its 20th anniversary in August at Nideggen Castle in Germany’s Eifel region. Employees from across its locations, franchise partners and German manufacturers came together for the occasion. The event brought the different members of the network together to look back on two decades of company history.

For the franchise community, the mix of attendees is noteworthy: the celebration included not only management and employees, but also independent franchise partners. Manufacturers whose products form part of the specialist wedding and engagement ring range were also represented.

However, the anniversary event provides no basis for drawing conclusions about new contract terms, support services or financial performance figures. Its news value lies in the shared occasion and the network’s participation. The concrete growth development in the anniversary year is the new franchise store in Bamberg.

New Cologne concept should be considered separately

Alongside Trauringschmiede’s continued development, managing director Enrico Drechsel is pursuing another jewellery retail concept in Cologne. The first SAINT RIOT shop opened on Apostelnstraße in mid-October. Blickpunkt Juwelier describes its presentation as distinctly more provocative.

It is important to distinguish between the two developments. Bamberg extends the existing Trauringschmiede concept with a named franchise partner. SAINT RIOT, by contrast, represents a new concept in Cologne. The report mentions neither a franchise opportunity nor any related expansion plans for SAINT RIOT.

The anniversary year thus combines the expansion of an established network with the testing of a different approach to jewellery retail. Both are part of current business developments, but they should not be treated as equivalent. In particular, the Cologne debut does not establish the existence of an additional franchise system.

Practical takeaway: Anyone assessing Trauringschmiede as a franchise opportunity should view Bamberg as a concrete example of partner-led expansion. Before deciding whether to invest, prospective partners would need to clarify the division of responsibilities, investment requirements and ongoing commercial terms directly with the company.