Boucheron
Encyclopedia
Jewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
house.
History
In 1893, Frédéric Boucheron became the first jeweller to move to Place Vendôme
Place Vendôme
Place Vendôme is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It is the starting point of the Rue de la Paix. Its regular architecture by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and pedimented screens canted across the...
. Legend has it that he chose 26 Place Vendôme, where Boucheron remains to this day, because it was the sunniest corner of the square. He believed that the diamonds in the windows would sparkle all the more brilliantly.
Czar Alexander III was a client, as was his son, the doomed Nicholas II. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother was especially fond of her Boucheron tiara which she inherited from Lady Greville, who originally purchased it from the House. Her grandson Prince Charles passed the tiara on to his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall as a wedding gift. Queen Elizabeth also has a collection of Boucheron jewels as did Wallis Simpson the Duchess of Windsor.
Americans are also collectors of Boucheron creations. Household names like the Astors
Astor family
The Astor family is a Anglo-American business family of German descent notable for their prominence in business, society, and politics.-Founding family members:...
, the Vanderbilts
Vanderbilt family
The Vanderbilt family is an American family of Dutch origin prominent during the Gilded Age. It started off with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthropy...
and the Rockefellers
Rockefeller family
The Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...
have returned time and again to the House of Boucheron for exceptional pieces of high jewellery. One American bride to be, Mary Ethel Burns, in preparation of becoming Lady Harcourt, turned to Boucheron to create the jewellery for her wedding trousseau. After her marriage Lady Harcourt was a faithful Boucheron client commissioning a number of pieces, including tiaras, necklaces and bracelets throughout her lifetime.
Carolina Otero was a Boucheron enthusiast as was the actress Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
and the writers Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
and Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
. While film stars including Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
, Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
also bejeweled themselves with Boucheron. More recently celebrities like Eva Longoria
Eva Longoria
Eva Jacqueline Longoria is an American actress, best known for portraying Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
, Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
, Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz Sánchez is a Spanish actress. Signed by an agent at age 15, she made her acting debut at 16 on television and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón, jamón , to critical acclaim...
, Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz
Cameron Michelle Diaz is an American actress and former model. She became famous during the 1990s with roles in the movies The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary. Other high-profile credits include the two Charlie's Angels films, voicing the character Princess Fiona...
, Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh Choo-Kheng is a Hong Kong-based Malaysian Chinese actress, well known for performing her own stunts in the action films that brought her to fame in the early 1990s....
, Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin A. Scott Thomas, OBE is an English actress who has also acquired French nationality. She gained international recognition in the 1990s for her roles in Bitter Moon, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The English Patient....
, Rachel Weisz
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz born 7 March 1970)is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues...
and Diane Kruger
Diane Kruger
Diane Kruger is a German actress and former fashion model. She is known for roles such as Helen in Troy, Dr. Abigail Chase in National Treasure and its sequel, Bridget von Hammersmark in Inglourious Basterds, Anna in Mr...
have purchased from Boucheron.
In addition to Czar Alexander III, royal patrons of Boucheron have included Maharajah Sir Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, Riza Shah Pahlevi, Queen Farida of Egypt
Farida of Egypt
Queen Farida, born Safinaz Zulficar was the Queen consort of Egypt and the first wife of King Farouk.-Personal life:...
and Queen Rania of Jordan.
Timeline
1858- Frédéric Boucheron opens his first store in the Galerie de Valois, at Palais RoyalPalais Royal
The Palais-Royal, originally called the Palais-Cardinal, is a palace and an associated garden located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris...
, during the heyday of the Second Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
.
1866- Boucheron creates its atelier.
1867- Paris Universal Exhibition: Frederic Boucheron wins his first Gold Medal only 9 years after opening his first boutique.
1878- Paris Universal Exhibition
Exposition Universelle (1878)
The third Paris World's Fair, called an Exposition Universelle in French, was held from 1 May through to 10 November 1878. It celebrated the recovery of France after the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.-Construction:...
: The Foliage necklace, a sapphire
Sapphire
Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...
and diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
set with a central sapphire of 159 carats (31.8 g), created for Mrs. H. Mackay, wins the Grand Prize.
references to same book different pages
1883- The Russian Prince Felix Youssoupoff
Felix Yusupov
Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston , was best known for participating in the murder of Grigori Rasputin, the faith healer who was said to have influenced decisions of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsaritsa Alexandra Feodorovna.-Biography:...
purchases a corsage
Corsage
Corsage refers to a bouquet of flowers worn on a woman's dress or worn around her wrist.* Corsages are often worn by the mothers and grandmothers of the bride and groom at a wedding ceremony in some countries....
decorated with 6 detachable diamond bows during one of his visits to Paris.
1893- Frederic Boucheron moves to 26 Place Vendôme
Place Vendôme
Place Vendôme is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It is the starting point of the Rue de la Paix. Its regular architecture by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and pedimented screens canted across the...
in the residence of the Countess of Castiglione. He opens the largest boutique on the square.
1898- Boucheron opens a store in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, later transferred to St. Petersburg in 1911.
1902- Frédéric Boucheron dies, his son Louis succeeds him.
1921- Boucheron is commissioned to make a tiara
Tiara
A tiara is a form of crown. There are two possible types of crown that this word can refer to.Traditionally, the word "tiara" refers to a high crown, often with the shape of a cylinder narrowed at its top, made of fabric or leather, and richly ornamented. It was used by the kings and emperors of...
for Lady Greville; it was later given to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
1928- Louis Boucheron is asked by the Maharajah of Patiala to set the stones of his treasure, which are brought to the Place Vendôme
Vendôme
Vendôme is a commune in the Centre region of France.-Administration:Vendôme is the capital of the arrondissement of Vendôme in the Loir-et-Cher department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It has a tribunal of first instance.-Geography:...
boutique by the private guards of the prince.
1930- The Shah of Iran asks Louis Boucheron to assess the Imperial Treasure of Persia and issues a decree naming him Official Curator and Guardian of the Treasure.
1959- Louis Boucheron dies, leaving his sons Fred and Gerard in charge of the business. Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
purchases a Boucheron watch for the love of her life, Marcel Cerdan
Marcel Cerdan
Marcellin "Marcel" Cerdan was a French pied noir world boxing champion who was considered by many boxing experts and fans to be France's greatest boxer, and beyond to be one of the best to have learned his craft in Africa...
.
1962- Fred Boucheron retires, leaving his brother Gerard as head of the establishment.
1970- In the 1970s the best-selling snake line was created.
1973- Boucheron's first boutique opens in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
1980- Gerard Boucheron retires and Alain Boucheron becomes President and General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
.
1988- Boucheron launches its first women's fragrance in a ring-shaped bottle.
1994- Boucheron takes of a new development in the sector of fashion accessories: the Boucheron Eyewear collection. Boucheron sells to Schweizerhall.
2000- Gucci Group acquires the House of Boucheron
2002- Boucheron launches the «Beauté Dangereuse» collection.
2003- Boucheron launches the "Not Bourgeois" collection
2004- Gucci Group is fully acquired by PPR
PPR (company)
PPR is a French multinational holding company specializing in retail shops and luxury brands. The company was founded in 1963 by the businessman François Pinault and is now run by his son François-Henri Pinault. It is quoted on Euronext Paris and is a constituent of the CAC 40 index...
. Jean-Christophe Bédos is appointed C.E.O. The "Jaipur" High Jewelry line and the "Déchaînée" collection are launched.
2005- Launch of four new jewellery lines: Trouble, Quatre, Diablotine, Vingt-Six. Boucheron opens its first boutique in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and its first flagship in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
. The debut of the "Trouble Désir" high jewellery collection
2006- Boucheron and Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen
Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...
collaborate together to create a limited-edition Novak bag that incorporates the snake motif of Boucheron's Trouble line. Boucheron opens its first boutique in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
. Launch of the "Exquises Confidences" jewellery line.
2007- The beginning of a collaboration between Boucheron and Swiss watchmaker Girard-Perregaux
Girard-Perregaux
Girard-Perregaux is a high-end Swiss watch manufacture with its origins dating back to 1791. It is situated in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland and is a part of the Sowind group, a subsidiary of PPR.- History :...
that produces the Haute Horlogerie watch series. The debut of the "Fleurs Fatales" high jewellery collection. Boucheron launches an E-commerce site so that customers can purchase Boucheron creations online.
2008- Boucheron marks its 150th anniversary with a yearlong celebration.
Products
Boucheron makes perfumes, watches, and jewellery. The watch and jewelry making segments have existed for over 150 years, while the perfume segment began in 1988 and it has 18 editions of different fragrances.Boucheron International Rating of Diamonds
Boucheron has compiled a classification system by which to determine the value of a diamond, developed on the basis of the diamond's international currency. The Boucheron method of appreciation has been registered under the name B.I.R.D. (Boucheron International Rating of Diamonds). This original classification system is based on an evaluation of diamond quality and relies on a combined analysis of two criteria: first, the degree of clarity and second, the colour of the stone. The point at which these two variables, "clarity" and "colour" intersect gives rise to a mark of appreciation of between 90/100 and 99/100 for the quality of the diamond. A mark of 100/100 would indicate that a stone possesses the ultimate degree of perfection, according to Boucheron's criteria.Vertu mobile phone
In a joint venture with the mobile phone brand Vertu, Boucheron created the world's first High Jewellery limited edition cell phones out of gold and precious stones. This collaboration continued with the 150th anniversary celebration with a new line of 7 Vertu mobile phones inspired by Boucheron's High Jewellery "Enchanting Boucheron" anniversary collection. There are only eight pieces of the Cobra model in rose gold set all round with rubies and a pear-cut diamond and emerald eyes. Entwined around a rose gold case, the Python model, a serpent set with multi-coloured sapphires, diamonds and two sapphires, will be brought out in 26 pieces, as a reference to the famous jeweller's address, 26 place Vendôme.Retail
The distribution network of Boucheron is made of 34 shops located all over the world (Paris, CannesCannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez is a town, 104 km to the east of Marseille, in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. It is also the principal town in the canton of Saint-Tropez....
, Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
, Beirut , London, San Francisco, Tokyo, Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Fukuoka
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
, Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
, Okayama, Nagoya, Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Moscow and Almaty
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...
) and over 100 certified retailers.