Tea at Trianon: A Schlumberger Pink Sapphire

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, October 23, 2022

A Schlumberger Pink Sapphire

It's a little much...but pink sapphires are wonderful. The brooch was originally made for a baroness whose daughter married a Habsburg. From The Court Jeweller:

This spectacular midcentury brooch features a 92-carat pink sapphire surrounded by an abstract floral frame made of gold set with diamonds and blue sapphires. It was designed by Jean Schlumberger, the incredible mind behind so many iconic 20th-century Tiffany creations....Schlumberger, noted for his collaborations with famous beauties in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, was one of only a handful of Tiffany designers who was permitted to sign his work. His jewels were worn and loved by the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Babe Paley, the Duchess of Windsor, Jayne Wrightsman, and Bunny Mellon. On their jewelry-focused Instagram account, Sotheby’s shared a little insight into his process: “In the 1950s, ordering jewellery was just like ordering couture gowns: Schlumberger sometimes required up to five fittings for one piece.” The auction house has previously summed up his work neatly: “Schlumberger’s fantastical brand of creativity flourished in the non-conformist spirit of the 1960s and ‘70s, his designs embraced by women wanting something slightly unorthodox while remaining well within the realm of good taste.” (Read more.)