It is a bracelet steeped in history worn by the most famous queen of France, Marie-Antoinette, and which the oldest jeweler on the planet, Mellerio, is exhibiting in New York to establish itself in one of the world capitals. luxury, even if the international market is running out of steam.
This unique piece, composed of seven antique cameos mounted on a bracelet with floral motifs of garnets and silver, is “not a sumptuous jewel of the Court” but it is “historic”, praises the representative of the 14th generation of Mellerio known as Meller, Laure-Isabelle Mellerio, president of the French jeweler founded in 1613.
For the “little story” told to AFP by Ms. Mellerio, also artistic director, her distant ancestor Jean-Baptiste Mellerio, a teenager around 1780, presented himself one day “at the gates of the Château de Versailles” to offer his merchandise.
Spotted by Marie-Antoinette, who had “a taste for Antiquity”, Mellerio sold or gave her the famous bracelet that the last queen of the Ancien Régime of France kept until her execution by guillotine on October 16, 1793 in Paris.
Recovered by this family still at the helm of the oldest independent jeweler in the world, the bracelet is, more than two centuries later, the “centerpiece” of Mellerio’s entry into the United States and New York, the international center of finance. , arts and great luxury.
“Atlantic Leap”
“We made the jump across the Atlantic,” its general director Christophe Mélard rejoices to AFP.
Located on Rue de la Paix, in the famous Parisian jewelry district, Place Vendôme, Mellerio has chosen its equivalent in Manhattan, where prestigious international brands stand between 5th Avenue, 57th Street and Madison Avenue.
Until the end of October, Marie-Antoinette’s bracelet sits among more contemporary Mellerio jewelry on the ground floor of a famous New York department store.
Ms. Mellerio and Mr. Mélard, who refuse to communicate their turnover, affirm that the Americans represent the “second nationality of (their) foreign clientele”, after the Japanese.
“Historically, the house has always had strong ties with Japan and its imperial family,” recalls the general director, but Mellerio noted that “the share of American customers had increased from 2% to 20% between 2019 and today “.
Still, the global luxury market is showing signs of slowing down, according to analysts.
In a note in September titled “cruel summer”, HSBC Bank reduced its sector growth forecast in 2024 from 5.5% to 2.8%, due to a drop in consumption in the United States and in China due to inflation.
She thus predicts “the 6th worst year in 20 years”.
The JLL firm, however, believes that luxury distribution in the United States and New York will remain flourishing with $82 billion in sales by 2028, compared to $75 billion in 2023, or nearly a third of turnover. global.
