Boucheron

Who started it?

Born in 1830 in France, Frederic Boucheron first entered the fine jewellery business as an apprentice under master jeweller Jules Chaize. He founded his own haute joaillerie house when he was 28, at the Palais Royale in Paris; in 1867, he extended his company into watchmaking. Boucheron had a specific design philosophy when it came to his jewellery and timepieces, describing them as 'not merely sublime assemblages of sensual stone and peerless metal but something that is beyond luxury. Jewellery and watches as pure indulgence ... as desire itself .'

In 1878, he created his first iconic piece: a curving gold moulded bracelet with a diamond-encrusted serpent head. In 1893, he became one of the first jewellers to open a boutique at Place Vendome, (which remains the brand's flagship to this day) and Boucheron began cultivating a sophisticated clientele including members of the European aristocracy and wealthy American industrialists.

When Boucheron died in 1902, he left his company in the hands of his son Louis, a civil engineer who had a deep understanding of the business and love of jewellery instilled in him by his father. He began to travel extensively to India and cultivated relationships with many members of the Indian elite, including the maharajah of Patiala who commissioned numerous extravagant pieces using his own extensive collection of priceless gems. Louis and his sons, Frederic and Gerard, continued to travel widely to Moscow, London and New York promoting the house.

Many Boucheron designs have become well-known pieces of art, such as the La Belle Otero, a necklace crafted from a diamond-encrusted frame studded with black and white pearls, an asymmetrical 'question mark' necklace with a peacock feather motif embedded with sapphires, emeralds and diamonds.

In 1988, Boucheron made its first luxury fragrance and, more recently, the house has teamed up with contemporary designers, creating a line of handbags with Alexander McQueen and luxury mobile phones with Vertu.