Since its creation in 2012, the School of Jewelry Arts has sought to democratize its culture of stone and jewelry by making it accessible to as many people as possible. A principle which, according to Élise Gonnet-Ponthe director of the France-Europe campuses, “ is part of the DNA of the house “. A real vocation therefore, which is manifested in particular by the School’s interest in the world of Books.
According to William GloriousDirector of Teaching and Research at the School of Jewelry Arts, “ the printed book evokes the idea of transmission and sustainability ». This also specifies Weekly Books : « Cis a polysemous work which summons different know-how in the same way as the art of jewelry ».
The School, publisher of publications around jewelry
The link between the book and L’École des Arts Joailliers has notably materialized through multiple publications in collaboration with publishers such as Dunod, Le Cavalier Bleu or Gallimard. Since 2016, the institute has published 61 works, including exhibition catalogs, scientific books resulting from research and works intended for the general public.
Each year, a dozen new publications are released, translated into up to six languages: traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, in addition to French and English. Soon, Arabic will be added to this list. The latest publication, Received ideas about jewelry (Le Cavalier Bleu, L’École des Arts Joailliers), published on September 26, is the result of a collective effort carried out during the confinement period. Under the direction of Guillaume Glorieux, professors and experts contributed to this work which is part of the essential mission of the institute: to discover jewelry in all its diversity.
A library of 6,000 books
These works as well as thousands of others are available in one of the School’s new flagship spaces, the library, inaugurated last year on the first floor of the Mercy Argenteau Hotel on the Grands Boulevards.
Nestled in a splendid 18th century buildinge century listed as a Historic Monument, it houses some 6,000 works, in 31 different languages, including old books, exhibition catalogs, auctions, university theses, student dissertations and specialized press. Accessible by appointment, the library welcomes students and researchers as well as beginners or the simply curious, with eight workstations available. This space was designed by Constance Guissetdesigner, interior designer and scenographer.
The large living room, located in the next room, is dedicated to various events related to books, such as meetings with authors, for example.
The L’Escarboucle bookstore, a “ cabinet of curiosity » in the heart of Paris
But it is on the ground floor that one of the main attractions and novelties of the School is located, a unique Parisian bookstore, entirely dedicated to the arts of jewelry, called “L’Escarboucle”. This term comes from the Latin “carbunculus” meaning “small ember”, used until the beginning of the 19th century.e century to designate fiery red precious stones, such as rubies, spinels and garnets.
The bookstore houses more than 1,500 books, a figure that its manager, Daniel Mitchellaspires to double within a year, including 55% in French, 40% in English and the rest in other languages. These books are spread over 100 m2 in three large areas like the three pillars of the house; know-how, the world of stone and the history of jewelry.
Despite this specialization, the bookstore retains the central mission of the school: making the culture of stone accessible to all. Because if most of the works focus on the art of jewelry, others have a more distant link with this field, such as Tintin and the Castafiore Jewels or The Parure of Guy de Maupassant.
Élise Gonnet-Pon testifies to Weekly Books of ” the importance of offering works of all genres at different price scales in order to attract the widest possible audience ».
Daniel Mitchell speaks of “ creation of bridges to bring another perspective, the objective being to establish a dialogue and experience mutual enrichment ». The School also explored this approach in a research project carried out with the BNF, which gave rise to a digital scientific file, available on the library website, analyzing the links between literature and jewelry.
As with the library, it was Constance Guisset who designed the design of this space, transforming it into a real “ cabinet of curiosities with a welcoming atmosphere », in the words of Élise Gonnet-Pon. According to the school’s director and Daniel Mitchell, L’Escarboucle is, to their knowledge, the only bookstore in the world exclusively specialized in books on jewelry. Their goal is now to make this boutique an essential place on the Parisian scene.
In short, a fascinating place run by enthusiasts, whose mission is to transmit and make accessible a culture often perceived as elitist, a feeling that they deeply deplore.
