Gem Lore

Sancy Diamond: French Royal History Guide

Sancy Diamond: French Royal History Guide

The Sancy Diamond — a 55.23-carat pale yellow pear-shaped stone — has one of the most adventurous histories of any gemstone, passing through the hands of French and English royalty,...

Sancy Diamond: French Royal History Guide

The Sancy Diamond — a 55.23-carat pale yellow pear-shaped stone — has one of the most adventurous histories of any gemstone, passing through the hands of French and English royalty,...

French Regent Diamond: Louvre's Famous Stone

French Regent Diamond: Louvre's Famous Stone

The Regent Diamond — a 140.64-carat cushion-cut diamond of extraordinary clarity — is the most significant surviving piece of the French Crown Jewels, with a history spanning from Indian mines...

French Regent Diamond: Louvre's Famous Stone

The Regent Diamond — a 140.64-carat cushion-cut diamond of extraordinary clarity — is the most significant surviving piece of the French Crown Jewels, with a history spanning from Indian mines...

Empress Eugénie's Jewelry: Second Empire Gems

Empress Eugénie's Jewelry: Second Empire Gems

Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, presided over the final and most spectacular flowering of the French Crown Jewels, assembling a personal collection and overseeing imperial pieces that represented the...

Empress Eugénie's Jewelry: Second Empire Gems

Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, presided over the final and most spectacular flowering of the French Crown Jewels, assembling a personal collection and overseeing imperial pieces that represented the...

Empress Josephine's Jewelry: Napoleon's Queen Gems

Empress Josephine's Jewelry: Napoleon's Queen Gems

Empress Josephine was one of history's greatest jewelry collectors, assembling a collection of emeralds, diamonds, pearls, and colored gems that defined the Napoleonic imperial aesthetic and remains among the most...

Empress Josephine's Jewelry: Napoleon's Queen Gems

Empress Josephine was one of history's greatest jewelry collectors, assembling a collection of emeralds, diamonds, pearls, and colored gems that defined the Napoleonic imperial aesthetic and remains among the most...

Napoleon's Jewelry: Emperor's Gem Traditions

Napoleon's Jewelry: Emperor's Gem Traditions

Napoleon Bonaparte transformed French imperial jewelry into a powerful political tool, using gemstones to legitimize his rule, project military might, and connect his new empire to the grandeur of ancient...

Napoleon's Jewelry: Emperor's Gem Traditions

Napoleon Bonaparte transformed French imperial jewelry into a powerful political tool, using gemstones to legitimize his rule, project military might, and connect his new empire to the grandeur of ancient...

Marie Antoinette Diamond Necklace Affair: Scandal

Marie Antoinette Diamond Necklace Affair: Scandal

The Diamond Necklace Affair of 1785 was one of history's most consequential jewelry scandals — a complex fraud that falsely implicated Marie Antoinette and helped destroy the French monarchy's credibility,...

Marie Antoinette Diamond Necklace Affair: Scandal

The Diamond Necklace Affair of 1785 was one of history's most consequential jewelry scandals — a complex fraud that falsely implicated Marie Antoinette and helped destroy the French monarchy's credibility,...