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What is bijoux (or singularly, bijou)?

Well technically bijoux (according to Wikipedia) is “an intricate jewelry piece incorporated into clothing, or worn by itself on the body.”

So how is bijouterie any different than jewelry?

Digging a little deeper, I discovered that the difference between “bijouterie” and  “jewelry” didn’t exist before Louis XIV became the king of France. Prior to that time, adornment was closer to what we consider today’s costume jewelry.

But Louis was obsessed with appearance and display and wanted to up the game of the cheaper bijouterie to match his high pedigree tastes.

This encouraged goldsmiths and jewelers throughout the country to improve the originality and quality of their pieces.

Bijouterie became jewelry.

Step up to the plate, jewelers. No more bijoux!

Amazing work, Margie! You’re a blessing to poor guys like me trying to find the perfect way to show their fiancé how special they really are. YOU made this possible.

2017 was quite a successful year for the big auction houses. Both Sotheby’s and Christie’s focused aggressively on fine jewelry sales…and the year-end numbers highlight how the dedicated work paid off.

According to Forbes:

The two auction houses combined for more than $1.1 billion in sales, with Christie’s achieving $556.7 million and Sotheby’s $551.3 million.

Both auction houses expanded its jewelry offerings with an increased eCommerce presence and with special sales held throughout the year.

And while Sotheby’s fell behind Christie’s in total jewelry auction sales, it did spearhead the sale of the world auction record for any gem or jewel: the CTF Pink Star. 

The CTF Pink Star is a 59.60-carat internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamond which sold for more than $71.1 million ($1.19 million per carat) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on April 4, 2017.

Let’s see what surprises lie ahead for 2018!