Falize
A Dynasty of Jewelers
Katherine Purcell
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Mid-nineteenth century Paris saw an extraordinary flowering of jewelry design and manufacture. Firms such as Cartier, Boucheron and Lalique came to prominence, alongside many other manufacturers who have not survived into the twenty-first century. One of the foremost of these was the house of Falize.
Founded in 1840, by Alexis Falize, the name soon became synonymous with beautifully designed and meticulously worked jewels. For nearly a century, Falize provided clients such as the Empress Eugenie, the Russian and Roumanian royal families, Sarah Bernhardt and the author Colette, with magnificent pieces of jewelry and silverware. They pioneered the revival of cloisonne enamel work and reinterpreted many Renaissance and historical jewels.
After the firm closed in 1936 much of its history was forgotten. Now Katherine Purcell, an expert in the jewelry of the period, has rediscovered the archive of Falize. In this beautiful book she discusses the amazing pieces produced by the firm. Colour plates of the jewels themselves are complemented by lovely drawings and watercolour sketches from the archive, alongside a fascinating and highly readable text.
Also of interest:
Henri Vever: French Jewelry of the Nineteenth Century
Cartier
The Master Jewelers
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|  |  | | | | ISBN 0500019118 | | ISBN-13 978-0500019115 | | | | 27.8 x 21.2 cm | | Hardback | | 320pp | | 414 illustrations, 157 in colour | | First published 1999 | | | | £60.00 | | | |  | | | | 
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