Henri Vever was a collector and a jeweler and combined these two passions and became a collector of jewelry. This new-found interest turned him also into a writer and historian, and from 1906 to 1908 he published his three-volume history of French nineteenth-century jewelry. In this work, important for both its scope and the unique information it contains. Vever demonstrated a scientific spirit that was exceptional for the time.

This work charts the careers of both the humblest and most famous French Jewellers of the 19th century, including Fouquet, Boucheron, Falize, and Lalique.

Translated from the French by Katherine Purcell. With all originalillustrations and a further 136 newly taken colour photographs.