Place vendôme

20/10/2015

It is said, the pavements of Place Vendôme are paved with gold - not true (unfortunately).

The history behind this saying may be because Place Vendôme and the surrounding streets of rue de la Paix, rue Castiglione and rue St Honoré are home to the most prestigious jewellers in the world. Some names may be better known to you than others, such as Cartier, Chaumet, Chopard, Dior, Fred, Van Cleef & Arpels, Boucheron, Mikimoto, Mouawad, Piaget, Buccellati, Harry Winston, Patek Philippe, Stern H, Mauboussin, Jaubalet. Each one of these 'Houses' is at the pinnacle of their trade and is a member of the very rare club of what is called 'High Jewellery'.

Some of the houses may also have their retail arm, which is already investment level jewellery, but the 'High Jewellery' is the jewels of dreams. Jewels made of the rarest, purest stones, crafted into masterpieces by the most skilled craftsmen who have mastered and perfected their trade over decades.

I love the jewels. Not because I am walking around in a tiara and dripping with precious gems but for all of the above - the quality, the beauty, the craftsmanship.

I always visit Place Vendôme when in Paris. There is, as would be expected, security around the shops and some may feel a little intimidated to go in. That is why I wanted to do this post for you. For one thing, to give you some eye candy and secondly to let you know that Chaumet, one of the jewellers on the Place has a pop-up museum in their store with an exhibition called Promenade Bucolic retracing the company's history until January 30th, 2016. A must visit in my book.

I would love to know which piece below you prefer - and if you get to the exhibition.

The Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson Panther Bracelet by Cartier (1952). Auctioned for $12.4m, thought to have been bought by Madonna.

A Chaumet emerald and diamond tiara, circa 1900, formerly in the collection of Princess Katharina Henckel von Donnersmarck, sold for $12.7 million in 2011.

Bulgari Two-Stone Diamond Ring from the original Bulgari collection, created in 1972. An Asian collector bought this ring at auction for $15.7 million.