Regency tales: French Crown Jewels

Wednesday, 13 November 2019

Seduced by stones

I admit to a fascination with sparkling gems.

French Crown Jewels in The Louvre. Photo by owensdt1

The Côte-de-Bretagne red spinel with the set of Queen Marie Amélie to the left, the bracelets and diadem of the Duchess of Angoulême in the centre and upper right and, between them, the set of Empress Josephine. [Wikipedia]

In museums a display of jewels holds me entranced, lost to time as the gems wink and shine. I'm as hypnotised as the old Councillor in Lorna Doone was by Lorna's diamond necklace.

The magnificent Spoonmaker's Diamond is an 86-carat pear-shaped stone, surrounded by a double-row of 49 Old Mine cut diamonds. It hangs in a glass case on the wall of one of the rooms of the Treasury in TopKapi Palace in Istanbul. [1]

Small wonder that jewels often feature in my Regency Tales. Whether it is Louise, the Huguenot goldsmith with a talent for resetting the gems from oldfashioned parures into lighter, more modern styles (The Rake and his Honour), or Nell and Sophie receiving a surprise legacy of jewellery (The Outcasts), or even a deeply-in-love hero offering a fabulous ruby ring to the object of his affections, I do enjoy adding a dash of bling.