The history of lapidaries
In a few words, the lapidary saws, cuts and polishes precious and semi-precious stones to reveal their brilliance and expose all their colors. He is an essential player in the world of jewelry.
The cutting of precious stones and fine stones appears in Geneva in the 13th centurye century. But it was only in the 16the century, when Catholic watchmakers fled Protestant persecution in Geneva and settled in the Jura, the lapidary industry developed in France for the cutting of watch rubies (counterpivots) and later, for fine stones jewelry. Stone cutting was mainly done in winter, as outdoor activity was reduced. In the 18th centurye century, the Jura cutters began to export their products to Paris and the first brilliants with 32 facets appeared. Some villages lived mainly by cutting precious stones: this is the case of Septmoncel, Les Molunes, Lajoux, Lamoura…. Between Paris and the Jura region, the first rhinestones and synthetic minerals, doubles and triplets, appeared. The cutting method is also evolving and the mechanical case can take various forms. He can cut one stone, then 2, then 4. Finally, the stone holder can hold 100 stones at a time. Processes then appear to cut the 32 faces of a brilliant in one go.
“After caring for the animals and milking, the peasant couple cut and polished for the town or village workshops. The man operated his copper grindstone with his left hand by a crank located on the left half of the rustic and solid 4-legged workbench; with his right hand he presented a stone holder on the grindstone and by successive rubbings cut the stone facet after facet. His wife, in front of him, polished the stones on a softer bronze wheel coated with an abrasive powder: tripoli.
Saint-Louis having approved the statutes of the Corporation of journeyman goldsmiths, crystal makers or stone workers (later called lapidaries) naturally became the patron of this corporation. The lapidaries had their own festival on the 1st Sunday in August (Saint-Etienne).”
LE HAUT-JURA FORGOTTEN, Daniel CHAMBRE (1998)
It is estimated that there were between 1 and 000 lapidaries depending on the period, between the 10the and the beginning of the XXe century in the Jura and more particularly in the Haut Jura. Today, there are only a few dozen, or even a hundred, professional lapidaries left in France. In comparison, Thailand alone has several tens of thousands of lapidaries, cutting is also very present in India and South America (mainly Brazil and Colombia).