1. Vacheron Constantin
(Manufacturers/Luxury Timepieces)

... of Jean-Marc Vacheron, Abraham, took over the family business in 1785. During this period the company was able to survive the French Revolution (1789–1799). Later, in 1810, the head of the company becomes ...

2. Rolex
(Manufacturers/Luxury Timepieces)

... came from the French phrase horlogerie exquise, meaning "exquisite clockwork". Another story claims that "rolex" was meant to evoke the sound of a watch being wound. The book The Best of Time Rolex Wrist ...

3. Patek Philippe
(Manufacturers/Luxury Timepieces)

... watches in 1839 in Geneva, along with his fellow Polish migrant Franciszek Czapek. They separated in 1844, and in 1845 Patek joined with the French watchmaker Adrien Philippe, inventor of the keyless winding ...

4. Jaeger LeCoultre
(Manufacturers/Luxury Timepieces)

... for automobiles were mostly used by the French automobile makers Citroën and Renault. A distinction to be made (and a relationship with Longines) Among vintage watch collectors, an assumption sometimes ...

5. Breguet
(Manufacturers/Luxury Timepieces)

... Ile de la Cite in Paris following his marriage to the daughter of a prosperous French bourgeois. Her dowry provided the "financing" which allowed him to open his own workshop. The connections Breguet had ...

6. Sapphires
(Gemstones/Colored Gemstones)

... Utica, Montana. Gem grade sapphires and rubies are also found in and around Franklin, North Carolina, USA. Several mines are open to the public. Synthetic Sapphire In 1902, French chemist Auguste ...

7. Pierre Vever
(Manufacturers/French Jewelers)

Eminent French jewelry house famous for its Art Nouveau designs. The firm’s history dates to 1821 when founder Pierre Vever (1795-1853) opened a jewelry shop in Metz, France. Business flourished and ...

8. Van Cleef & Arpels
(Manufacturers/French Jewelers)

... her necessities into a tin Lucky Strike cigarette case. Arpels took the idea and made it his own. He named it for his wife. The French verb minauder means, roughly, to simper or smile coyly. Madame Van ...

9. G. Paulding Farnham
(Manufacturers/American Jewelers)

... the first that we have seen, and it would be impossible to surpass them, whether for cleverness of imitation or for perfection of workmanship." French critics shared his view. They were, moreover, impressed ...

10. Pierre Sterlé
(Manufacturers/French Jewelers)

Sterle was a French jeweler famous for his 1940’s and 1950’s designs. In 1934, Pierre Sterlé opened a workshop on Rue St-Anne. Some of Paris’s finest jewellers patronized him, including Boucheron, Chaumet, ...

11. Seaman Shepps
(Manufacturers/American Jewelers)

... latest French fashions, including the work of Verdura at Chanel, Belperron at Bovin, and Toussaint at Cartier, Schepps began designing his own jewelry rather than retailing the work of others. Business ...

12. John Rubel Co.
(Manufacturers/American Jewelers)

... Parisian manufacturing jewelers. In 1939, Rubel moved to New York to help produce jewelry for Van Cleef ‘s recently opened shop in the city. Both firms shared designerMaurice Duvalet, a Frenchman who ...

13. Oscar Heyman Bros.
(Manufacturers/American Jewelers)

... New York workshop at 712 Fifth Avenue; he was the first non-French bench jeweler hired. When the whole family moved to New York in 1912, the brothers opened a workshop of their own: Oscar Heyman & ...

14. Mauboussin
(Manufacturers/French Jewelers)

Mauboussin was a French jewelry house famous for its Art Deco and Retro jewelry and objects. Though its roots go back to 1827, the firm gained international acclaim in the 1920’s. Its rise into the ...

15. Marcus and Co.
(Manufacturers/American Jewelers)

... were of high quality, even if a bit crude by French standards, and are still among the best examples of American Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts jewelry. Marcus and Company continued to attract high ...

16. Lalique
(Manufacturers/French Jewelers)

(1881 - present) French jeweler recognized as the undisputed master of Art Nouveau style. In 1876, René Lalique (1860-1945) began his career as an apprentice to eminent Parisian goldsmith Louis Aucoc. ...

17. Gaillard
(Manufacturers/French Jewelers)

French jeweller known for Japanese motif jewellery and mixed metals work. In 1860, Ernest Gaillard took over his father’s Parisian jewellery workshops. Though the workshops had til then produced primarily ...

18. Fouquet
(Manufacturers/French Jewelers)

French jeweller known for its Renaissance revival and Art Nouveau work. In 1839, the firm’s founder, Alphonse Fouquet, entered the jewellery industry at the tender age of eleven, serving as an apprentice ...

19. Falize
(Manufacturers/French Jewelers)

Renowned French jewellery house famous for its cloisonne enamelling and Japanese-inspired designs. The firm’s history begins in 1832 when Alexis Falize (1811-1898) began an apprenticeship with Parisian ...

20. Faberge
(Manufacturers/Russian Jewelers)

... apprenticed with Gustav’s partner, Peter Hiskins Pendin, and then traveled to Germany, London, Italy, and France to complete his education, studying both manufacturing and design. French designs especially ...