The goldsmith Nicolas Meniere and his wife, Genevieve Langlois, Paul-Nicolas Meniere became master on 11 January 1775, from the rue Mauconseil. His work can be divided into two groups: the sumptuous snuff boxes created under the Ancien Regime and the Royal diamonds and jewels that he continued to supply after the French Restoration. He had already been appointed Bijoutier du Roy by Louis XVI, appearing in the registers of the Presents du Roi. Meniere became joaillier de la Couronne, in 1788, thus beginning a relationship with the Crown Jewels which continued until his death in 1826. Meniere’s descendants, through his daughter’s marriage to the son of his own partner, Georges-Frederic Bapst, in their turn also became joailliers de la Couronne, under Louis-Philippe et Napoleon III.
