Paris Exhibit Celebrates Natural Pearls

Did you know that in 1900 there were 300 natural pearl dealers here between numbers 1 and 100 Rue Lafayette?

It was a passing mention of this in a scientific book that caught the attention of Olivier Segura, gemologist and director of L’École Asia-Pacific, School of Jewelry Arts, and set the wheels for the “Paris, City of Pearls” exhibition running until June 1 at the Hôtel de Mercy-Argenteau in motion.

Visual Guide to Exhibit

“It’s incredible because that means there were several in most buildings,” he told WWD at a walkthrough ahead of its opening on Thursday. “But when people asked why and how as well as why they were now gone, I was incapable of answering.”

What started as a three-month research project for Léonard Pouy, the school’s content and transmission manager who is a doctor in art history, to get a sense of the facts turned into this 100-piece exhibition and accompanying 240-page catalogue.

“Pearls were worth more than diamonds and everyone was coming to Paris to purchase them,” said Segura.

Drawn from the collections of institutions ranging from Musée des Arts Décoratifs to the Albion Art Jewellery Institute, exhibits ranging from a set designed by Frédéric Boucheron for British aristocrat Lady Wolverton and a cascade of Cartier pearls to a set by Boisvin and a beaded evening bag by Van Cleef & Arpels showcase the range of the biomineral gem.

SOURCE: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/exhibit-explores-heyday-natural-pearls-212619552.html

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