Training models in Parisian fine jewellery education

Abstract

The Haute Ecole de Joaillerie (HEJ) is the oldest jewellery school in France and lies at the heart of the institution of Parisian fine jewellery. This article examines the use of training models at the HEJ for transmitting technical and spatial expertise, resulting in fine jewellery knowledge that is standardized, evaluated and differentiated on a national and local scale. It reveals how these models connect students with the historic roots of the jewellery industry in Paris, namely the pre-modern craft guilds of goldsmiths, and also with the jewellery houses of the Place Vendôme, which emerged in the nineteenth century and are today the defining feature of Parisian fine jewellery. It is argued that the training models act as a lynchpin, linking Parisian fine jewellery across and within generations. This article contributes to literature on the growth and evolution of Parisian craft and design industries that remain recognizably identifiable with the city and their history in the face of the incursion of global markets.