This past May, NYC Jewelry Week embarked on a new adventure with Jewelry Jaunts, our first-ever jewelry trip to Paris organized by Bella Neyman. In case you are wondering where we went, we decided to share our Travel Diary with you.
Our home away from home was the chic Hôtel des Grands Boulevards. Merci for taking such great care of us!
Monday, May 12th
Our Parisian adventure started at the Louvre with a visit to the museum’s first-ever fashion exhibition, LOUVRE Couture: Art and Fashion Statement Pieces. It felt like even the three hours we spent wandering the galleries of the Louvre were not enough to see the insanely gorgeous 99 garments on view. Spread out across the Decorative Arts galleries of the Richelieu and Sully wings of the museum, the exhibition – one of the most beautiful that I have ever seen – featured garments from the leading couturiers past and present, paired with the museum’s rich collection of antiquities and decorative objects. It truly felt like you were on a treasure hunt to find the next ensemble.
After traipsing through the galleries and picking our jaws off the floor, it was time to leave the museum for our first jewelry visit of the week. We walked to Chaumet located at 12 Place Vendôme. Established in 1780 by Marie-Étienne Nitot, Chaumet holds the distinction of being one the most venerable jewelry houses in France – and the first to call Place Vendôme home.
A private tour of their archives with the Directrice du Patrimoine gave us a glimpse into a small selection of their 66,000 jewelry drawings! We were also presented with an incredible array of historically significant jewels – from diamond-encrusted bird wing brooch (1908) owned by Gertrude Whitney to 1970s Arcade Chaumet textured gold ear cuffs, to medals from the Paris 2024 Olympics. We also enjoyed a visit to their Tiara gallery, where everyone felt like a princess.
Our last visit of the day was to the jewel-box boutique owned by renowned jeweler Lydia Courteille at 231 Rue Saint-Honoré. I was particularly excited to see the famous Topkapi ring and earrings on view side by side. Courteille spoke to us about starting her business as a collector of vintage jewelry and how it has influenced her modern day creations. She even signed some books for us!
Tuesday, May 13th
Tuesday morning started off bright and early at Mellerio, located at 9 rue de la Paix. Since 1613, Mellerio has been the world’s oldest family-owned and independent jewelry house in France. Today, it is operated by owner and creative director Laure-Isabelle Mellerio. Outside of Paris, you can find their jewels only at Bergdorf Goodman—but you can only visit their archives and see their museum masterpieces in Paris.
We were truly blown away by their gorgeous record books, which date back to the 19th century and feature not just the names of their clients but also select designs. The most surprising and historically significant item on view was the marmotte—the case that the Mellerio family used to carry their jewels and stones when they were traveling merchants in the 16th century.
Another interesting fact: Mellerio jewelry was so in demand that, in the 19th century, they worked with over 100 workshops in Paris to produce their pieces.
From one historic jewelry house, we went to visit another. At 26 Place Vendôme resides Boucheron Heritage House. It is not everyday that one gets a masterclass with Boucheron’s Heritage Director. The House, founded in 1858 by Frédéric Boucheron, has called Place Vendôme home since 1892. Today, led by two women, Hélène Poulit-Duquesne, CEO, and Claire Choisne, Creative Director, the house is a recognized global leader in High Jewelry.
One of the most valuable lessons we learned here was how to look at jewelry: always look at the back—it must be as beautiful as the front. Then, close your eyes and feel the jewel. Make sure the light is right by facing away from the sun, as too much natural light can alter the color of the stones. Did we try on a question mark necklace? Oui!
From 26, we walked down Place Vendôme to 19 and “shook the hand” (his door handle is a cast hand) of Lorenz Bäumer. The only independent jeweler on Place Vendôme, Lorenz Bäumer has been designing jewelry for over thirty years. Prior to launching his own brand, he was the Artistic Director at Chanel for 20 years and later launched the fine jewelry collection at Louis Vuitton. Lorenz, a wonderful storyteller, was as charming and fascinating as the jewels were gorgeous.
Our last stop of the day was at the Petit Palais to see their Jewelry Drawings (Dessins de bijoux) exhibition. For the first time, the Petit Palais opened up its collection of drawings from the second half of the 19th century to the mid-20th century. Through a remarkable selection of designs from a collection comprising over 5,500 works, this exhibition showcases the richness of a body of work amassed since the late 1990s. I especially loved seeing the drawings that had matching jewels on view. Great attention was paid to the work of René Lalique, Boucheron, Pierre-Georges Deraisme, and Charles Jacqueau at Cartier.
Wednesday, May 14th
What can be said about a day that starts with a private, curator-led visit to the jewelry galleries of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs? Just glorious. We were welcomed to the museum before it opened to the public and had the chance to flip the switch and see the jewels come alive before our eyes.
Currently, 1,000 of the 6,000-piece collection (owned by the State and founded to inspire other craftsmen) are on view—and while the two galleries are arranged in somewhat chronological order, we couldn’t help but zigzag through periods, styles, and makers, asking questions and pointing excitedly along the way. I was glued to the Art Nouveau section—the museum has more than 200 pieces representative of the style.
Leaving the museum made us want to touch and try on jewelry, so it was a good thing that Élie Top was waiting to meet us in his atelier, located at 217 rue Saint-Honoré. Previously the jewelry designer at Yves Saint Laurent, Top has been designing jewelry under his own name since 2015. Inspired by Gothic architecture and armor, celestial symbolism, and nature, Top’s creations are sculptural and bold. We had the pleasure of being regaled by his stories in the “Living Room” of his salon and trying on pieces from his newest collection, Dangerous Liaisons, which took him ten years to develop.
Following this intimate salon visit, we were whisked away to the grand apartments of Messika on the avenue des Champs-Élysées. In just 20 years, Valérie Messika has built an empire alongside her famous diamond-dealer father, André Messika.
Revolutionizing how women wear diamonds – every day, of course – she has broken the code of classical jewelry and designed some of the coolest jewels around. We had the honor of visiting the workshops and design studio, followed by a private visit to her rue de la Paix boutique. But the highlight was the balcony of the pied-à-terre, which offered us a view of the Grand Palais to our right, the Eiffel Tower straight ahead, and the Arc de Triomphe to the left. We were living our best lives yet (and feeling like Emily in Paris!).
While our main activities were over, we still had a party to go to! It was a lovely night to host a dinner with Marion Delarue and Alix Dumas back at our hotel. The two artists shared their very different, but equally artistic, approaches to jewelry.
Thursday, May 15th
Today, our day was dedicated to artist jewelry. We started off on the Right Bank, where we visited the studio-gallery of Thierry Vendome at 39 rue François Miron. Thierry’s space is small, but it contains a gallery showcasing the work of Jean Vendome (1930–2017), as well as his own. Just a few feet away from the finished pieces is Thierry’s bench and tools, where he makes everything by hand. The Vendome name is synonymous with sculptural jewelry that utilizes unusually carved and rough-cut stones in high karat gold settings.
After a delicious lunch at L’As du Fallafel, we made our way to the Left Bank and visited some of Paris’s most illustrious vintage and contemporary art jewelry galleries, including Galerie Mazlo, La Galerie Parisienne, and Galerie Subra Woolworth. However, the highlight was visiting Galerie MiniMasterpiece and meeting with proprietor Esther de Beaucé to learn all about her gallery, which specializes in jewelry by artists and sculptors. After our tour, collector Diane Venet was present to sign catalogues from her most recent exhibition at the Norton Museum in Palm Beach.
Although not officially on our itinerary, we hurried over to the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac to see the encyclopedic exhibition Golden Thread: The Art of Dressing from North Africa to the Far East. Dinner at their restaurant, Les Ombres, with the magnificent views of the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower, was the absolute best way to conclude a fabulous day.
Friday, May 16th
Our final day in Paris was spent enjoying the quiet of the typically bustling Saint Ouen Flea Market. The market is at its busiest on on the weekends, but our guide, Sandrine Merle of THE FRENCH JEWELRY POST arranged some fabulous private tours for us. This included the ultra-chic Les merveilles de Babellou, one of the finest vintage clothing stores in Paris, a visit with the vintage jewelry dealer Marie-Laure Chermezon, and a few other surprises. Exploring the stalls when they were less crowded allowed us to take our time and SHOP!
Visiting the flea market also set us up for our visit to the Hôtel Drouot. This block -long auction venue hosts some of France’s premier independent auction houses. While it’s glory days may be a thing of the past, it was still very cool to observe auctions in progress.
However the highlight of Friday was certainly visiting Olivier Baroin at his gallery, La Golconde. Baroin is considered the world’s leading Suzanne Belperron expert and antique jewelry dealer. He co-authored the publication on Belperron with Sylvie Raulet and is often the expert called upon to authenticate her jewels. Throughout our trip, we encountered Belperron jewels at the auctions (we also went to Geneva for the Sotheby’s and Christie’s sale prior to Paris) and in the galleries, so being able to meet with Olivier, ask him questions, and see Belperron’s digitized books and drawings was an incredibly special experience.
Our last official jewelry stop was to see Paris, City of Pearls at L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts. The beautiful exhibition focused on Paris as the epicenter of the pearl trade at the beginning of the 20th century. Paris, City of Pearls featured not only exceptional jewels from the likes of Cartier, Lalique, JAR, and Boivin, but also fashion illustrations by Barbier to contextualize the popularity of pearls as part of the modern women’s wardrobe.
While we were sad to say goodbye, our farewell dinner at Bouillon Julien, with its gorgeously restored Art Nouveau interiors, was the perfect setting to toast to a fabulous week and make plans for next year’s trip.