Der Granat von Perpignan

Publié le 13 décembre 2010 par Laurent Fonquernie

    Vorbemerkung  Der Granatschmuck von Perpignan ist eine kostbare Spezialität des Departements Pyrénées Orientales (östliche Pyrenäen). Hier im Süden Frankreichs findet man noch anspruchsvolles handwerkliches Können gepaart mit Erfahrung von Generationen. Beides ist heute selten geworden.Tatsächlich gibt es nur zehn Meister dieser Kunst, die diese alte – aus vorrevolutionärer Zeit stammende – Technik noch beherrschen. Man findet hier also gleichzeitig einen Stein – den Granat -, eine regionale Kultur, … Continuer la lecture →

Publié dans Bijoux traditionnels | Laisser un commentaire

The postwar explosion

Publié le 13 décembre 2010 par Laurent Fonquernie

The Garnet at the crossroads of different aspirations   After the Second World War, Roussillon becomes one of the laboratories a new consumer society eager for holidays in the sun. Beginning in 1963, the Racine mission launched an unprecedented project to develop the coastal region, in order to allow millions of vacationers to stay on home soil, doubling the summer population of the Pyrénées-Orientales. An influx of tourists spread out … Continuer la lecture →

Publié dans Bijouterie XXe s. roussillonnaise | Laisser un commentaire

The garnet : the crown jewel

Publié le 13 décembre 2010 par Laurent Fonquernie

Regionalism   Since the last years of the 19th century, regionalism has played a large role in artistic creativity in Roussillon, a period of prosperity worthy of the Belle Epoque, during which time there was no desire to lose the connection with the roots of Catalan art. The garnet becomes central to a carefully orchestrated debate between the concepts of progress and tradition, and has become an emblem of “Catalan identity”, … Continuer la lecture →

Publié dans Bijouterie XIXe s. roussillonnaise, Bijouterie XXe s. roussillonnaise, Grenat minéral | Laisser un commentaire

The garnet today: More than ever in Catalan style

Publié le 13 décembre 2010 par Laurent Fonquernie

Without neglecting traditional methods of production, the Perpignan garnet today has been able to adjust to new designs. The return of the raised closed setting managed to satisfy two principles: the current tastes of the client, and respect for Catalan traditional techniques. However two schools have emerged: creation of a unique handmade piece, and that of the stylist which makes used of the latest techniques. There are two very different … Continuer la lecture →

Publié dans Bijouterie XXe s. roussillonnaise | Laisser un commentaire

Bishops’ crosses and Virgin’s crowns

Publié le 13 décembre 2010 par Laurent Fonquernie

Powerful and active after 1900 in an environment of regionalism, the Catholic Church also turned its interest to this gem, now a symbol of a people who once had built the Romanesque Abbeys and a Catalan culture always demonstrative in its lively faith. Some chalices were adorned with garnets such as the one Paul Soulié willed to his son, ordained as a priest in the Cathedral of Perpignan in 1905. … Continuer la lecture →

Publié dans Bijouterie XXe s. roussillonnaise | Laisser un commentaire

Masterpieces of craftsmanship: Les années folles

Publié le 13 décembre 2010 par Laurent Fonquernie

In the inter-war period gave garnet jewelry a new impulse thanks to its capacity to adapt to the Art deco style. The number of jewellers is significant and covers most of the area of the Pyrénées-Orientales. Behond the great jewellery houses, such as Velzy or Charpentier of Perpignan, Prades is notable for its revival under Joseph Calvet, who married the heiress of a century-old Quès jewellery house, , in 1921. … Continuer la lecture →

Publié dans Bijouterie XXe s. roussillonnaise, Non classé | Laisser un commentaire

The advent of the Perpignan Garnet

Publié le 13 décembre 2010 par Laurent Fonquernie

The Garnet in all its forms   One of the most audacious creations in Catalan jewellery at the end of the 19th century was to totally abandon the mounting of other stones in favour of the garnet, with its subtle compositions, in advance of its time. Through their mastery and a perfect adaptation to the market, the jewellers at the end of the Second Empire were able to breathe a … Continuer la lecture →

Publié dans Bijouterie XIXe s. roussillonnaise | Laisser un commentaire

Before the beginning of the garnet tradition

Publié le 13 décembre 2010 par Laurent Fonquernie

Jewelry symbolizes strong feelings: love, friendship, remembrance of a loved one. But in a region of two cultures sometimes Hispanic, sometimes French, whose relationships were always changing, the traditional craft was preserved. These precious objects always have always played a part in the culture of presentation of the Catalan population, proud of its heritage, from one generation to the next. In the first half of the 19th century, with the … Continuer la lecture →

Publié dans Bijouterie XIXe s. roussillonnaise | Laisser un commentaire

Creating metal designs

Publié le 13 décembre 2010 par Laurent Fonquernie

Turning gold into wire  In Perpignan gold is exclusively used for Garnet jewelry. Mined industrially near the village of Glorianes (Pyrénnées-Orientales) from the 1920s to the 1960s, Catalan gold has been used since time immemorial. Processed and worked into fine sheets or wire of different thicknesses, gold is first passed through a manual or an electric machine to refine the metal. In the nineteenth century Catalan jewellers were specialized in … Continuer la lecture →

Publié dans Bijouterie d’Ancien-Régime roussillonnaise, Bijouterie XIXe s. roussillonnaise, Bijouterie XXe s. roussillonnaise | Laisser un commentaire

Napoleon III and the time of the Badines

Publié le 13 décembre 2010 par Laurent Fonquernie

The legacy of the nobility In the Second Empire a new interest about the 18th century gave birth to the decoratives arts in the Pompadour style. Promoted by the Empress Eugénie, attracted by the personality of Marie Antoinette, this trend was to have a great influence on the jewelry culture. Roussillon contributed to the trends of the day in the form of a prestigious and imposing cross called the badine … Continuer la lecture →

Publié dans Bijouterie XIXe s. roussillonnaise | Laisser un commentaire