Book Description

ofp:HII..'rn book-; published from the 16th to the 19th cen· lUrks. while practical expenise emigrated with lluguenot nali:-;men alkr the !{evocation of the Edict of Nantes in 16H'). Other jewelers were invited to work at the reign rulers, and visiting ladies took advantage of their time in Paris to have their jewels rt'set. Although the French Revolution of 17H9 brought this luxwy trade to a standstill, it was triumphantly revived under Napoleon. Even the collapse of the Second Empire in I H70 could not shake it. ·n,e great dynasties of Canit:r, limu:heron, and Chaumet survi\"lxl the disaster unscathed and expanded their empires into the 20th century, setting up branches in Lon· don. New York. Switzerland, and japan. It was from Paris, too, that the pioneers of Art Nouveau and An Deco emerged to generate the ideas which the great jewelers then tr~msf(>nned into r:tshionahle jewels. A-; ;I rt:Slllt of the close connection between the leading jewelers and cou· ture houses. designs have been conceived in harmony with the latestl:tshions in dress; this has contributed to the continuingsuccessofthe French firms in the.post·Second World War peri