François Eugène Vidocq was a French criminal who caught the attention of Napoleon Bonaparte. The story goes that Napoleon required his assistance in recovering certain jewels (and his social pride). As reward for his successful (and swift) resolution, he was acquitted of his past crimes and given the opportunity to start and head La Sûreté Nationale (now known as the French National Police), an uber-modern police force that eventually inspired the likes of Scotland Yard and FBI among others. Soon after divorcing his first wife, muse and the aptly-dubbed ‘Napoleon’s Cleopatra’, Josephine, Napoleon found himself in a rut. Part of the royal jewelry he had gifted to the erstwhile Empress of France, an emerald parure (a set of matching jewelry, typically necklace, bracelets, earrings, brooch and a headpiece) had gone missing. Public sentiment (flamed by the popular disappointment with Napoleon’s separation from Josephine) considered it a mischief on Napoleon’s part in order to mar the reputation of his ex-wife. To avoid this blemish on his public image (was there a need to?), Napoleon approached Vidocq who, in a matter of three days, not only recovered the jewels but also apprehended the guilty – both thief and buyer – by employing techniques unheard of at the time like going undercover as a disguised criminal and forensic analysis. His methods proved influential in granting him distinguished reputation as the ‘Father of Modern Criminology’!

Parure

So what was this piece of jewelry that motivated the crime? Parure is a French word that translates to ‘set’ or ‘ensemble’ in English. It is a set of items of matching jewelry – an assemblage that grew popular in 17^th century Europe. A true parure consists of three or more matching articles of jewelry. A set of earrings and bracelets, for example, would not be a parure but a demi-parure. Parures and demi-parures essentially formed the wardrobe of every 17^th century woman of any social significance. Early parures, much more elaborate than consequent versions of it, could consist of the whole wardrobe – tiara, diadem, necklace, comb, earrings, bracelets, rings, bandeau, pins, brooch and belt clasp – all matching with the same kind of stones. As the size of the ensemble considered a parure decreased, the similarity in design and structure increased. By the time Napoleon became the Emperor of France, parures had become incredibly popular especially as a reflection of social status, and he loved giving them to both his first wife Josephine and second wife Marie-Louise. The particular parure that found its way into the hands of thieves was a large and lavish emerald parure. The Empress was so impressed with its beauty that she immediately had her portrait painted, flaunting the large emeralds. However, soon after the portrait was put on display, Napoleon divorced her in favor of a wife that could bear him children. This undoubtedly infuriated Josephine who, it would seem, could easily have orchestrated the theft in order to sway public opinion in her favor by implicitly blaming Napoleon. This is exactly why Napoleon wanted the jewels recovered as soon as possible, and the events that followed led to the establishment of modern criminology. Quite an interesting turn of events, wouldn’t you say? For more articles on jewelry, visit the Van Scoy blog. Shop interesting, premium jewelry at Van Scoy Diamonds.