A parure () is a set of various items of matching

jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

, which rose to popularity in early 19th-century Europe.

Terminology

A parure typically consists of a combination of a matching

necklace A necklace is an article of jewellery that is worn around the neck. Necklaces may have been one of the earliest types of adornment worn by humans. They often serve ceremonial, religious, magical, or funerary purposes and are also used as sy ...

, earrings,

brooch A brooch (, ) is a decorative jewellery item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with enamel or with gem ...

bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, ...

and often a

diadem A diadem is a Crown (headgear), crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of Monarch, royalty. Overview The word derives from the Ancient Greek, Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", fro ...

tiara A tiara (, ) is a head ornament adorned with jewels. Its origins date back to ancient Greco-Roman world. In the late 18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women at formal occasions ...

. A variation is the ''demiparure'' which consists of as few as two matching pieces, such as earrings and a necklace or brooch.

Design

A parure is not a static piece of jewelry but rather, is modular and can be reconfigured to remain fashionable and suit different occasions. Members of court and higher social ranks vied for the best jewelers to create the most imaginative and elaborate collections that would increase their status. Some necklaces could be worn intact or temporarily disassembled into bracelets, pendants, hair ornaments or brooches with interchangeable components and locking systems. Cases for storing parures were also often highly decorative.

History

Artisans under

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

were credited with some of the first parure inventions in the 18th century. Diamonds, often paired with silver, were popular at that time. A famous example was created for Mademoiselle d'Aubigné's wedding, which included: earrings, two pendants, loops and clasps for the sleeves, 32 buttons, and a large bowknot. There is a tendency for paste parures from the period to survive to the present, as the low value of the component parts made them less likely to be broken up for reuse.

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

was fond of lavishing these gem suites on his first wife, Joséphine, to wear at state functions. Later, he gave similar sets to his second wife, Marie-Louise, including a set made from cut steel. From the mid-19th century, parures made up of hair jewellery or jet pieces were made as mourning wear.

Gallery

File:Joséphine de Beauharnais by François Gérard 3.png, Joséphine, Empress of the French wearing an emerald and pearls parure, c. 1807. Detail from a portrait by

François Gérard François Pascal Simon Gérard (, 4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a French painter. He was born in Rome, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was Italian. A ...

File:Louis Hersent - Marie-Amélie de Bourbon, princesse des Deux-Siciles, reine des Français.jpg, Queen Maria Amalia of France wearing elements of her sapphire parure, 1836 File:Elizabeth II Southern Cross.png,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

wearing the Brazilian Aquamarine Parure in 2006 File:Royal Wedding Stockholm 2010-Lejonbacken-012 (cropped).jpg,

Queen Silvia of Sweden Silvia (born Silvia Renate Sommerlath; 23 December 1943) is Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Carl XVI Gustaf. She has held this title since her marriage to Carl XVI Gustaf in 1976. The king and queen have three children: Crown Princess Vict ...

wearing the Pink Topaz Demi-Parure paired with a diamond tiara, 2010 File:Crown princess mary ruby parure.png,

Queen Mary of Denmark Mary (born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson; 5 February 1972) is Queen of Denmark as the wife of King Frederik X. Mary met Frederik (then Crown Prince of Denmark) while attending the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. They married on 14 May 2004 at ...

wearing the Danish Ruby Parure, 2010

References

External links

* {{Wiktionary inline, parure History of clothing (Western fashion) Jewellery