Wièse

Cf.: Frances Wilson and Caroline Crisford (eds.), The Belle Epoque of French Jewellery 1850-1910, Derby, 1990, pg. 94.

Jules and Louis Wièse

Jules Wièse (1818-1890) was born as Julius Wiese in Berlin where he trained as a goldsmith under the court jeweller Johann Georg Gossauer. He eventually moved to Paris where he worked for the prestigious jewellery house Froment-Meurice. In 1845, Jules Wièse opened his own atelier which flourished thanks to numerous collaborations with other Parisian jewellers, some of which won him prizes at the International Exhibitions of 1849, 1855 and 1862. In 1860, he established his store at 90 rue de Richelieu where it remained for the rest of its history. His son Louis (1852-1923) took over the firm in 1880. He changed the company’s maker’s mark to WIESE with a star above after his father’s passing in 1890. Wièse ceased to exist following the passing of Louis Wièse in 1923.

Wièse worked in historicizing styles and emphasized textured and aged gold as well as enameling. Wièse initially adopted the neo-gothic and neo-renaissance styles of Froment Meurice. When the Louvre acquired the Campana collection of antique Roman jewels, Wièse together with a whole generation of Parisian jewellers, started to explore the archeological revival style.