{"id":17175,"date":"2017-01-17T22:06:40","date_gmt":"2017-01-17T21:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefrenchjewelrypost.com\/\/?post_type=style&p=17175"},"modified":"2023-12-18T03:20:48","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T02:20:48","slug":"louis-xiv-the-inventor-of-french-high-jewelry","status":"publish","type":"style","link":"https:\/\/thefrenchjewelrypost.com\/en\/style\/louis-xiv-the-inventor-of-french-high-jewelry\/","title":{"rendered":"Louis XIV, the \u201cinventor\u201d of French high jewelry"},"content":{"rendered":"

During his reign from 1643 to 1715, Louis\u00a0XIV assembled all the conditions necessary to make Paris the capital of high jewelry.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

An adamantine passion<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The sovereign was not only passionate about gardens and court dancing, he was also mad about diamonds, giving them the place of honor to the detriment of pearls that were until then the object of all desires. This passion, fueled by Cardinal Mazarin\u2019s bequest of 18 exceptional diamonds, allowed him to assert his supremacy and power. He incorporated diamonds into his apparel wearing them as buttons, on his hat, on his sword, in the buckles of his shoes, in buttonholes, on the braid of his pocket flaps and on the seams on the back of his frock coat. Once, to impress the Turkish ambassador, he even had a suit made that was entirely embroidered with white diamonds.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The first gemstone dealer<\/strong><\/p>\n

His passion was fed by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier<\/a>. Considered as the forefather of all traders in precious stones, Tavernier made six voyages between 1631 and 1668, during which he would traverse 240,000\u00a0kilometers. He ventured into Turkey and Persia, visited an India infested with tigers, and he was even the first European to reach the famous diamond mines of the Golconda<\/a> Valley. He brought back exceptional stones including the famous 115-carat blue-violet diamond that itself has an incredible story. A central figure in the history of the diamond, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier is currently the subject of research funded by the \u00c9cole des Arts Joailliers<\/a>, which will present its work-in-progress at a lecture to be held on March 2nd<\/sup>, 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Great advances in stone cutting<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1550, there were around 300 goldsmith\u2019s workshops in Paris that excelled in the art of setting and mounting, whereas the best lapidaries were to be found in Holland. Louis\u00a0XIV wanted above all to further enhance his diamonds, and so the French lapidaries greatly developing their skills, eventually surpassed themselves in the art of stone cutting and multiplied the number of the facets to increase the diamond\u2019s brilliance and sparkle. They laid the foundation for the brilliant cut that still remains the best known today. Pierre Le Tessier de Montarsy, Sylvestre Bosc and Pierre Blain were all artisans devoted to the Sun King\u2019s passion, and who would make Paris the capital of high jewelry<\/a> during the second half of the 17th<\/sup> century.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A fashionable clientele in the style of Louis\u00a0XIV<\/strong><\/p>\n

Louis\u00a0XIV had sparked a phenomenal craze for diamonds and the aristocracy abandoned themselves totally to diamonds, to the extent of transforming Versailles into a sparkling theater. Hairstyles glittered with them under the candlelight and were reflected in the mirrors. Diamonds were embroidered on bodice fronts, fastened sleeves and were worn on scarves over brocade jackets. “Paradoxically, portraits of the time show little of this flamboyance<\/a> which, on the other hand, is described in such texts as La Palatine\u2019s memoires,”<\/em> explains Gislain Aucremanne, historian at the \u00c9cole des Arts Joailliers. One of the best-known representations is that of Marie Leszczynska whose bodice front gleams in all splendor under adamantine embroideries.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The crown jewels<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

During his reign, Louis\u00a0XIV considerably enriched this collection initiated by Francis I and which belonged to the State. The Sun\u00a0King made it the most sumptuous in the West. In 1691, it numbered 5,885\u00a0diamonds as opposed to 1,500\u00a0other gemstones and 500\u00a0pearls. There were 18\u00a0diamonds inherited from Mazarin (including the 55-carat \u201cSancy\u201d) and those colored diamonds the King was mad about. The \u201cBleu de France\u201d, set on the Golden Fleece and which was the symbol of his reign (now on display at the Smithsonian Institute) sat alongside the \u201cHortensia\u201d with its slightly peach-pink color. In 1714, in a considerably more impoverished kingdom, Louis\u00a0XIV was finally forced to refuse that ultimate, exceptional stone, one that would be acquired a few years later by the French Regent whose name it takes today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During his reign from 1643 to 1715, Louis XIV assembled all the conditions necessary to make Paris the capital of high jewelry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":8512,"template":"","tags":[326,4599],"class_list":["post-17175","style","type-style","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-aristocratic-jewels","tag-place-vendome"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLouis XIV, the \u201cinventor\u201d of French high jewelry - The French Jewelry Post by Sandrine Merle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thefrenchjewelrypost.com\/en\/style\/louis-xiv-the-inventor-of-french-high-jewelry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Louis XIV, the \u201cinventor\u201d of French high jewelry - The French Jewelry Post by Sandrine Merle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"During his reign from 1643 to 1715, Louis XIV assembled all the conditions necessary to make Paris the capital of high jewelry.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thefrenchjewelrypost.com\/en\/style\/louis-xiv-the-inventor-of-french-high-jewelry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The French Jewelry Post by Sandrine Merle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thefrenchjewelrypost\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-18T02:20:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thefrenchjewelrypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/une-1-louis-XV-sandrine-merle-the-french-jewelry-post.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"701\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefrenchjewelrypost.com\\\/en\\\/style\\\/louis-xiv-the-inventor-of-french-high-jewelry\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thefrenchjewelrypost.com\\\/en\\\/style\\\/louis-xiv-the-inventor-of-french-high-jewelry\\\/\",\"name\":\"Louis XIV, the \u201cinventor\u201d of French high jewelry - 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