In the friendly shadow, in front of St. Valentine
Standing, facing each other, they held each other’s hand
When she opened hers, there was a jewel,
A treasure, his heart, made of gold and garnet |
Garnet, esoteric properties:
Promotes self-confidence and perseverance that are essential to carry out projects.
Pleasure of the action and success guaranteed. The garnet is effective for protection from evil
and hidden dangers. |
| “Les Joyaux Catalans” and Casa Perez: |
| A land, Jewels, People |
| The history happens in the far end of the Roussillon plain where the mountain begins and the vineyard ends... We are situated in this delightful Conflent dotted with charming little Romanesque churches and housing two of the most beautiful abbeys of the Pyreneees: St Michel de Cuxa and St Martin du Canigou. Today is market day, a sunny and very windy day, and the sweet town of Prades shows off all its beauties. In the past shepherds used to meet millers and cloth merchants. Today neo-rurals, former hippies, meet the subprefect holding her shopping basket, and market stalls reveal the delicious honey and small goat cheese and foie gras among beautiful vegetables and sun-drenched fruit. It was exactly here near the fountain, on a market day, so many years ago, that Guillem and Eugénie got engaged. The relics of St. Valentine they had just venerated in the nearby church of St. Pierre were behind that engagement… On the day of their wedding, Eugénie wore with pride a necklace with a superb Badine cross made of gold and garnet, a family jewel offered by her grandmother, and garnet drop earrings of a beautiful red, a deep red similar to the colour of the ruby reminding the colour of the cherry... |
| “Les Joyaux Catalans” |
| The jewels can be admired, their history and the garnet’s history can be discovered still today in Prades, place St Pierre, at Privat’s. You will get to know that the Badine cross must have its origin in the Cathar country. It comprises a minimum of six beautiful garnets of matching colours and the last gemstone of the vertical branch – the longest branch of the cross – is always movable. We know that the Cathar people venerated a cross of equal branches. After suffering persecutions and being forced to hide their faith, they invented the Badine cross which apparently complied with Catholic requirements but in fact was true to their principles... Today, without renouncing the ancient forms, the Privat family are always looking for new models. They offer a total of over two thousand models that can suit all tastes and new ways of life, and they have given the name of “Les Joyaux Catalans” to the collection. |
| Garnets – rare and mythical gemstones |
| Their colours are a reference to love, the sacred with the Passion of the Christ, and garnets were said to have many powers: they promoted self-confidence and perseverance and protected from evil and hidden dangers. Our ancestors actually believed in it. Our gemologists of today think they have many other qualities: first, an excellent hardness number which is 7, and sometimes 7.5 (let’s remind here that the sapphire and ruby have got a hardness number of 8.5 in comparison with the garnet). A very hard semiprecious stone and a complex one too. The garnet belongs to the family of silicates like the emerald, aquamarine, topaz or jade. Garnets occur in many various colours: Almandine is pinkish, Tsavorite, of the same family, is green. However, most garnets occur in various shades of reds, from nearly brownish to purplish. So it is no wonder that these dreamy gemstones were often given the poetic and fanciful names of Fashoda garnet, Oriental garnet, Ceylon ruby or Almandine garnet. When they are called Bohemian ruby or garnet, Almandite ruby or garnet or Cape ruby or garnet, these are garnets of pyrope type, the most widely used since the Merovingians. |
| From the ingot to the jewel - an exceptional work |
| The most beautiful and the biggest gemstone, the king of garnets, was discovered in the 16th century in Bohemia; it was a flame red Pyrope which had the same size as a pigeon egg, a size unequalled so far. Besides the beautiful garnet, what fascinates the Privat family is working gold which, in some way, dresses the gemstone in order to bring out its beauty. And, in their workshop, we are surprised to discover that everything, absolutely everything, is made using traditional techniques. Directly from the ingot to the most magnificent jewels, the very skilled craftsman stretch out, bend and melt down the metal. Thanks to the complex method called the ‘lost-wax-casting’, they get a very polished metal. Gold is modelled, baked, cleaned up, polished, abraded several times with great care in order to get a jewel of unique quality. It is only thanks to this exceptional method that the jewel can be awarded the appellation “Les Joyaux Catalans” and the warranty it bears. But there is another thing: if the Privat family know how to choose gemstones and work gold as genuine masters jewelers do to give brilliance to the garnet, they know secrets too... |
| The manner of mounting garnets used since early times and Henri Privat’s genius |
| To obtain or recognise the most beautiful garnet jewels, the only ones deserving the name of “Les Joyaux Catalans”, there are two secrets: the real “Joyaux Catalans” are all set in an enclosed bezel, a very old technique always used since the Byzantine period and an example unique in Europe. Instead of being simply attached with claws, the garnet is placed on a base and surrounded with gold, it is set in the precious metal – this is the first secret. The second secret is the technique of the foil which originally was a beaten sheet of silver placed under the gem to reflect the light. But, in the course of time, the sheet of silver oxidized and the gem lost its brilliance. At the end of the 19th century and during the 20th century, techniques improved and craftsmen tried all types of methods but none gave much satisfaction until Henri Privat had a real stroke of genius: enamel was the solution because it was time-resistant and compatible with gold. After numerous attempts, Henri developed a method which will be patented and awarded very soon: the enamel foil. He could therefore find a solution to a problem which jewellers had to face for so many years and improved a technique which did not change since the 15th century! |
| La Casa Perez and Privat family |
| It must be said that Henri takes after other members of his family: he belongs to a family who always have to renew themselves. Its origins are to be found in the Pyrenees: Basque and Catalan. A grandfather from the Aveyron who was a descendant of these Huguenots persecuted after the Edit of Nantes, first settled at Bourg-Madame, in Cerdagne. His father, Jérôme, decided to settle in Prades, a city of history and culture, always welcoming with artists, rediscovered thanks to Pablo Casals. So, the famous Casa Pérez was born ‘only’ twenty-seven years ago, and it was named after Henri’s mother. This is not only a jewellery shop, but also a beautiful workshop in which highly skilled specialists, both artists and craftsmen, work, a genuine art gallery and a small museum dedicated to nice ancient pieces of work and garnets. 20,000 visitors discover all the secrets of “Les Joyaux Catalans” every year: secrets that the Privat family are always very happy to reveal to them! |
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