Antique French Jewelry

This comprehensive overview, organized by material and period, allows the reader to distinguish, appraise, and date French jewelry from 1800‒1950.

This highly accessible guide offers a detailed panorama charting the evolution of French jewelry created between the Consulate period in the 1800s through to the 1950s. Iconic examples include Onyx cameos, “dormeuses” earrings in rose gold, an Art Deco solitaire, a sapphire “you and me” ring, a diamond “shaker” brooch, and an emerald “negligee” necklace.

Entries are organized by period, and include primary sources of inspiration and characteristics, designers, materials, gemstones, and types of jewelry. Completed with an overview of the key design houses and artists who have left their mark on the jewelry industry since 1800, along with detailed advice for buying and maintaining pieces, this practical reference—richly illustrated with photographs and archival documents—provides everything you need to know to appreciate antique jewelry in all its facets.

Victoire de Castellane is artistic director of Dior Jewelry. Geoffray Riondet runs the Riondet design house, and is an antique jewelry specialist, legal expert, and gemologist. Riondet drew upon the expertise of Valérie Goupil, Anne Laurent, Loïc Lescuyer, Gérard Panczer,and Brigitte Serre-Bourt, professors at the French National Institute of Gemology (ING, Paris-Lyon).