Eleven years ago, Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement. This is an opportunity for us to look back at the ancestry of one of the most famous rings on the planet, created by the jeweller Garrard. But did you know that the daisy is originally French?
La Pompadour, this influencer
François BOUCHER, Portrait of the Marquise de Pompadour, 1756, Munich, Alte Pinakothek
Jeanne-Antoinette Lenormant d'Etiolles, née Poisson, made her first appearance in Versailles in February 1745 at a masked ball. If her bourgeois origins earned her the mockery of the aristocracy (did you say XVIIIème ?), the king imposed her as his official favourite in September of the same year and offered her the estate of Pompadour in the process.
The now Marquise de Pompadour was in the picture. She exerted her influence on the king in many ways, and even relieved him of her duties as a lover in the 1750s - it is whispered that she herself provided him with the tenderest flesh; she remained an ally of Louis XV until his death in 1764.
But back to our daisies.
The beautiful planter
In the 1960s, La Pompadour was given the Petit Trianon overlooking the French Garden, the Botanical Garden and the Flower Garden of Versailles. History tells us that it was in this natural setting that our trendsetter came up with the idea of a flower-shaped ring.
Marguerite ruby ring set with diamonds on gold
The daisy ring, also known as the Pompadour ring, is characterised by a central stone set with a crown of usually smaller stones.
Emerald and diamond daisy ring
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A bouche que veux-tu
Marquise emeralds and diamonds ring
But the king is not to be outdone when it comes to spoiling his friend. With a new diamond cut derived from the brilliant cut and characterised by its pointed ends, he would have liked to materialise the smile - all things considered - of our 18th century muse.
This diamond cut is called "Marquise". By extension, rings with an oblong bezel are called by the same name.
Not content with exercising her power under Louis XV for almost twenty years in the political, literary and artistic fields, the Marquise's impact on clothing and decoration was such that the name Pompadour itself became that of a style. It is therefore in all relaxation that she also leaves her mark on jewellery and can pride herself on being an influencer before the letter.
And if you doubt it, think of us when you drink champagne from a glass that legend has it was moulded on the breast of our muse!
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