Paris in the Fall

Inspiration is in the air and Paris is the city! You have to love the French, their way of life, their architecture, their fashion sense, all they do seems to vibrate with a love of living. Cold and windy, nevertheless every Parisian imaginable was clustered in open air sidewalk cafes - yes outside that is! Sit inside in the heat, never. The de rigeur scarf jauntily donned, buttoned up and gloved, they gathered to sip chocolat chaud, or cafe au lait, and talk, talk talk. No matter the weather,  they were socializing at every hour of the day.

And to prove there is nary a day that passes that I don't learn something, a new term is now part of my vocabulary. "Pomponne". Similar to the English term, "Pinchbeck". Pomponne is used to describe French antique jewelry made of base metals that resembles gold. Pinchbeck as you may know is an alloy of copper and zinc that was used primarily in the 18th century up until the mid 19th century. It is named after its inventor, Christopher Pinchbeck. Then, the machine age with its technology for rolled gold (and also gold filled and other gold alloys) drove its popularity into the ground and it disappeared. The term, Pomponne,  is said to derive from the nobleman, the Marquis de Pomponne who lived in the late 17th century. We are still researching how this tie to this diplomat came to be.

Pinchbeck jewelry examples can be viewed at www.georgianjewelry.com.