Boucheron

He was born a draper's son, apprenticed at 14, and told that he would never run his own jewellery business. In this episode of Gem Pursuit, Matthew Weldon and Fenia Sigkoudi trace how Frederic Boucheron built one of the great French jewellery houses, from his early training in Paris to the 1858 decision that changed everything.

The story begins in the Palais Royal, where Boucheron learned the trade, watched a business pass to someone else, then raised 100,000 francs and opened his own boutique. Matthew and Fenia follow the early shop, the sale-or-return model that helped him build trust, the 1866 maker's mark, and the exhibitions that gave Boucheron an international name.

They also look at what makes Boucheron feel like Boucheron: jewellery that is striking, unusual and beautifully made, but also fluid and wearable. From the Question Mark necklace and plique-a-jour enamel to diamond engraving, the Grand Mazarin, the Maharaja of Patiala commission and a client list that runs from Sarah Bernhardt to Queen Elizabeth II, this is a story about risk, taste and the power of doing things differently.

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This podcast was produced for Courtville by Tape Deck