Five periods. Five collections.

Choose a period. Each collection is born of research: identified sources, a precisely attributed motif, then the jewel.

Louis XIV · 1643–1715

The goldsmith’s drawing

A first precise corpus: Gilles Légaré and Louis Cossin. Their engravings show the jewels, sometimes their backs — invaluable for understanding how crosses, clasps and bracelets were built.

Next research: Compare fronts and backs of the pendants; record the clasps.

View the Louis XIV collection

Sources

Gilles Légaré Book of goldsmiths’ works
1663
Rijksmuseum
Louis Cossin Crosses, bracelets and clasps
1663
BnF
Jean Petitot Madame de Sévigné, miniature
v. 1670
Louvre

Research & history

Louis XV · 1715–1774

Pouget’s Treatise

In 1762 Pouget fils engraved seventy-nine plates of parures on the Quai des Orfèvres. Girandoles, bows, bouquets: the Maison’s first archive, studied plate by plate.

Next research: Measure the girandoles of plate 14; compare with pieces in the Louvre.

View the Louis XV collection

Sources

Pouget fils Treatise on precious stones, pl. 14
1762
BnF Gallica
Pouget fils Bows and rosettes, pl. 33
1762
BnF Gallica
Manufacture de Sèvres Column vase, bleu céleste
v. 1760
Walters

Research & history

Louis XVI · 1774–1792

The neoclassical parure

Garlands, ribbons and oval medallions. Van der Cruycen’s plates and Vigée Le Brun’s portraits fix the Queen’s taste — light rivières, articulated bows.

Next research: Identify the “esclavage” necklaces; record the medallions’ proportions.

View the Louis XVI collection

Sources

Van der Cruycen Plate III · Studies of girandoles
1770
The Met
Van der Cruycen Plate X · Necklaces
1770
The Met
Vigée Le Brun Marie-Antoinette with a Rose
1783
Versailles

Research & history

Napoléon · 1804–1815

The imperial parures

Cameos, palmettes and laurel leaves. Nitot delivers the coronation parures; the Regent is set into the Emperor’s sword. Drawing becomes architecture.

Next research: Consult the Nitot files; verify the attributions of the diadems.

View the Napoléon collection

Sources

Nitot The Empress’s parure
1810
Chaumet
Archives nationales Accounts of the Emperor’s Household, O²
1804–1814
Pierrefitte
Le Régent Diamond, 140.64 ct
1717
Louvre

Research & history

Louis XVIII · 1814–1824

The return of flowers

Trembling bouquets and open-back settings. The workshops of the rue de la Paix revive the previous century’s motifs — lighter, mounted on springs.

Next research: Compare Pouget’s bouquets with Restoration brooches.

View the Louis XVIII collection

Sources

Mellerio Dated drawings 1814–1824
1814–1824
Archives Mellerio
Musée des Arts décoratifs Maciet collection, jewellery
XIXe
Paris

Research & history