Bapst et Falize French Goldsmith and Jewellery Firm

Bapst et Falize is a Paris-based French goldsmith and jeweller.

History

In 1752, Georges-Michel Bapst became King Louis XV’s jeweller and took over the direction of his father-in-shop, law’s Georges-Frédéric Stras. (Stras invented ‘strass,’ a colourless glass paste commonly used for jewellery in the 18th and 19th centuries.) Jacques Bapst (Georges-grandson) Michel’s married Paul Nicholas Meniere’s daughter in 1797. Meniere, a member of an 18th-century silversmith family, purchased Boehmer et Bassange, Marie-jewelers, Antoinette’s at the end of 1788. Constant and Charles-Frédéric Bapst, sons of Jacques Bapst, took over as joint directors and were tasked to recreate part of Emperor Napoleon I’s regalia for Louis XVIII.

The firm became known as Bapst freres after producing Charles X’s coronation regalia in 1824. Charles-Frédéric was the workshop’s director for 50 years, joined by his nephew Alfred. Alfred, who succeeded Charles-sons Frédéric’s Jules and Paul as directors in 1871, developed the firm’s spectacular ensemble made from the diamonds in the Empress Eugénie’s crown. Bapst et Falize was founded in 1879 by representatives of two jeweller families. Alexis Falize, a jeweller, had established the family enterprise at the Palais Royale in 1838, and Lucien Falize was his son. Alexis and Lucien Falize created cloisonné jewellery in the late 1860s, influenced by Japanese art displayed in London in 1862 and Christofle’s enamels. Lucien worked with Emile Gallé and Paul Grandhomme, contributing to Siegfried Bing’s book Le Japon Artistique (1888—91). After Lucien Falize died in 1897, his sons André, Pierre, and Jean took over the business.