Since the days of Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, Josephine, Eugenie and so on, the French royal family has been unabashed. in love with jewelry. Their true love for jewelry is not only reflected in the collection, but also in their personal style and unique taste. Each member of the French royal family has their own unique jewelry collection, and these precious stones and jewels have become a symbol of their status and artistic taste.

1

The "Sun King" Louis XIV

France became the fashion center of Europe thanks to the "Sun King" Louis XIV, who loved to collect all kinds of large diamonds. He not only inherited 18 "Mazarin diamond Series" including Sancy, Portuguese Mirror and Grand Mazarin Legend diamond, but also collected the French Blue diamond, the predecessor of the famous Hope Blue diamond.

During the reign of Louis XIV, he greatly enriched the French royal jewelry collection, and by 1691 the number of diamonds owned by the royal family was 5,885, compared with 1,500 other gemstones and 500 pearls. Louis XIV was undoubtedly a fashion Icon in Europe at that time, and he would use diamonds as buttons or ornaments directly inlaid on clothes, creating an extremely bright and luxurious court Style of Versailles, leading the popularity of the upper society.

This French diamond crown almost includes France's top jewelry, and even the Regent diamond, pink diamond Grand Mazarin, Sancy diamonds are also embellembelled on the crown. At the time, the crown was worth enough to buy a small country. The coronation crown is said to contain 282 diamonds, 230 pearls and 64 rare colored gemstones, and was created in the 18th century and is the first gemstone crown in France.

Sancy is a 55.2 carat pale yellow pear-shaped diamond that once belonged to James I of England, was sold by his successor Charles I to finance his army, passed through the collection of the Bishop of Massarin, and was later set in the crown of Louis XV.

The diamond was stolen during the French Revolution and went missing for nearly a century until 1906, when the 1st Viscount Astor bought the Sancy as a wedding present for Lady Astor, who set it in a diadem. In 1978, the Astor family sold the diamond to the Louvre for $1 million.

The pink diamond Grand Mazarin is the most famous of the Mazarin diamonds, and his last wish was that this 19.07 carat pink diamond from Golconda could be set on the crowns of all French monarchs, so it was set on the coronation crowns of Louis XV and Louis XVI. Although it was stolen after the fall of Louis XVI, it was later recovered and later inherited by the Bonaparte dynasty.

Although France was the unassailable hegemon of Europe during its prosperity, the coronation crown of the king of France was not as lavish as that of the British crown, but was rarely embellished with gems. The owner of the French diamond crown was Louis XV, the son of Louis XIV. The monarch did not have his father's murderous means and broad heart, and only inherited Louis XIV's obsession with jewelry.

Weighing 140.64 carats, The Regent Diamond was added to the French royal jewelry in 1717 by Philip II, Duke Regent of Orleans, France, and has since become one of the symbols of French kingship. It was mounted on the coronation crowns of Louis XV and XVI, and also appeared on the hat of Marie Antoinette. It was stolen until 1801, when Napoleon returned it to the French royal jewelry collection.

Marie-Etienne Nitot designed the double-edged sword used in Napoleon's coronation, and set the Regent diamond on the hilt, which was later worn by Empress Eugenie on her diadem, but it did not appear at auction with her other jewels in 1887. It is now housed in the Louvre, along with Louis XV's coronation crown.

2

Marie Antoinette jewelry box

Marie Antoinette, queen of Louis XVI, was a "jeweler," and the Austrian princess knew the art of jewelry so well that her collection would be a rarity even today.

The Golconda diamond mine, discovered in India in the early 17th century, allowed a steady stream of high-quality diamonds to be transported to Europe by sea, and it can be seen that most of Marie Antoinette's jewelry was made of diamonds.

Of course, there are also traditional natural pearls.

In November 2018, Sotheby's held a world-renowned auction of royal jewels, including the collection of French royal jewels by Marie Antoinette. One of them, a natural pearl pendant with a diamond bow, sold for $36 million at a Sotheby's auction.

3

Josephine's jewelry

After the end of the Bourbon dynasty, the Bonaparte Dynasty led by Napoleon came into being, and the new royal Icon was Napoleon's empress - Josephine.

Embossed jewelry is characteristic of this period

One of the most famous relief suits, now belonging to the Swedish royal family, includes a complete set of jewels such as crowns, earrings and necklaces. What's interesting is that the reliefs around the pearls come from different masters from different periods, and one of them is even based on Napoleon himself. This set of jewels was a gift from Napoleon to Josephine, who left it to her son and eventually married into the Swedish royal family with her granddaughter Josefina, becoming the most popular wedding tiara in the family.

In addition to cameo jewelry, Josephine is also a big fan of sapphires and owns a large jewelry set made from Sri Lankan sapphires. She wore a necklace, bracelet and belt in the portrait, which shows the large Size of the stones.

4

Queen Eugenie's jewels

Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, was also known for her love of jewelry, admiring Marie Antoinette's aesthetic and a fondness for 19th century naturalism, so her collection can be seen from huge bow brooches to large pieces of jewelry in the shape of roses, feathers and vine leaves. A set of 30 highly natural goosecurrant leaf brooches, for example, has rows of gradient diamonds hanging from them to represent raisin-covered branches.

Empress Eugenie's most famous jewel must have been the pearl crown she wore on her portraits. It was a wedding gift from Napoleon III, designed and crafted by Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier and set with more than 200 pearls and nearly 2,000 diamonds.

The members of the French royal family have a sincere and profound love and pursuit of jewelry. Their collection represents not only wealth and status, but also an important heritage of French jewelry art, inspiring later generations of designers and jewelry lovers. Their jewelry collection is closely tied to their personal style, infusing the French royal family with a unique glamour and fashion glow.