Boucheron Secret Archives

Boucheron: Secret Archives tells the true story of Maison Boucheron, the oldest jeweller on Place Vendôme. Fifteen years after the first publication, new documents and photographs discovered in the Boucheron archives and private collections have allowed jewellery historian Vincent Meylan to reveal more remarkable discoveries about the history of this great Parisian jewellery house, bringing the glittering world of diamonds and pearls, intrigue and power to life. From ‘Ladies of Sin’ to the ‘Kings and Queens of the World’, the Maison’s extraordinary, colourful clientèle included La Païva, The Countess of Castiglione, Tsar Nicholas II, the Duke of Windsor when he was Prince of Wales, Lord Mountbatten and the Duke of Kent, the Vanderbilts, the Rothschilds, Sarah Bernhardt, Rita Hayworth, the Aga Khan, the Iranian and Egyptian royal families and more. For over a century-and-a-half, Boucheron has fashioned some of the most exquisite jewellery, from Margaret Greville’s fabulous treasure left to the Queen Mother to the spectacular emerald necklaces created for the Maharajah of Patiala. Featuring over 300 illustrations and documents, these pages include newly discovered original design sketches, black-and-white archive images and sumptuous colour photographs of Boucheron’s exquisite creations.