ABOUT "THE BRONZE"
A RICH HISTORY OF PRODUCING QUALITY PRODUCTS
For over 90 years, Colonial Bronze has produced the finest cabinet and architectural hardware available. Unlike our competitors, we DON’T import finished hardware from overseas – we never allow anyone else to be responsible for the quality that bears the Colonial Bronze name. We control every aspect of our production and the level of quality that goes into our products, from start to finish. When you order hardware from Colonial Bronze, American craftsmen and women will do their best to deliver the finest products you can find anywhere.
Follow the timeline to learn more.
Immigrating From Switzerland
In 1927, two Swiss brothers, Maximillian Fredriche Ruefli and Josef Augustus Ruefli, immigrated to the United States to use the toolmaking skills they learned as apprentices in Switzerland.
Getting Started
The first jobs they landed in the US were as toolmakers for a hardware manufacturing company in Bayonne, New Jersey – Standard Bronze – a manufacturer of locksets and door hardware.
Striking Out On Their Own
That same year, in 1927, they decided that they should strike out on their own and opened their first factory on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, calling it (with very little imagination) Colonial Bronze.
Moving Shop
After a few years of driving to Connecticut to get their brass raw material, the brothers moved Colonial from the Bronx to Torrington, Connecticut, in the heart of what was then known as the "Brass Valley," home to nearly all of the country's brass mills.
The New Factory
Here is Colonial’s factory in 1930 – where it remains to this day
The First Catalog
The first catalog offered premium brass hardware products – from handles and knobs to hooks and even clothesline pulleys made of solid brass.
A Growing Reputation
Colonial’s reputation grew and it became a fixture in all the leading industry trade shows (a sign of the times - look for the ashtray at the end of the couch), with its exciting designs.
Doubling Down
By 1948, Colonial Bronze was expanding again, nearly doubling the factory's original size.
Expanding Again
In 1996, Colonial Bronze expanded again. In addition to more than doubling capacity again, Colonial upgraded to state of the art manufacturing facilities.
COLONIAL BRONZE FACTORY PHOTO GALLERY
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BROCHURE, CATALOG AND AD PHOTO GALLERY
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