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Condé (diamond)
The Condé diamond, also known as the Grand Condé or Pink Condé, is a 9.01 carat (1.802 g), pear cut, pink diamond. Of Indian origins, the first known owner is Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, merchant and traveler, who sold it to King Louis XIII of France. The king or his heir, Louis XIV, then gave it to Louis II de Bourbon, prince of Condé known as ''Le Grand Condé'' (the diamond take its name by him), as a reward for his services during the Thirty Years' War. It remained in the possession of the Condé family until 1892, when the last heir, the Duke of Aumale, ceded it to the French government on condition that it remained on display at the Château de Chantilly. Stolen in 1926 and later recovered, it is now exhibited, with other historical gems, in the Condé Museum Condé is a French place name and personal name. It is ultimately derived from a Celtic word, "Condate", meaning "confluence" (of two rivers) - from which was derived the Romanised form "Condatum", in use durin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carat (mass)
The carat (ct) is a unit of mass equal to , which is used for measuring gemstones and pearls. The current definition, sometimes known as the metric carat, was adopted in 1907 at the Fourth General Conference on Weights and Measures, and soon afterwards in many countries around the world. The carat is divisible into 100 ''points'' of 2 mg. Other subdivisions, and slightly different mass values, have been used in the past in different locations. In terms of diamonds, a paragon is a flawless stone of at least 100 carats (20 g). The ANSI X.12 EDI standard abbreviation for the carat is CD. Etymology First attested in English in the mid-15th century, the word ''carat'' comes from Italian ''carato'', which comes from Arabic (''qīrāṭ''; قيراط), in turn borrowed from Greek ''kerátion'' κεράτιον ' carob seed', a diminutive of ''keras'' 'horn'. It was a unit of weight, equal to 1/1728 (1/12) of a pound (see Mina (unit)). History Carob seeds have bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis, Grand Condé
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé (8 September 1621 – 11 December 1686), known as (), was a French military commander. A tactician and strategist, he is regarded as one of France's greatest generals, particularly celebrated for his triumphs in the Thirty Years' War and his campaigns during the Franco-Dutch War. A member of a senior cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Condé demonstrated exceptional military prowess from a young age and distinguished himself during the Thirty Years' War, in particular at the Battle of Rocroi against Spain in 1643. He became a powerful and influential figure in France, which made him a threat to Anne of Austria, regent for the young Louis XIV, and her prime minister Mazarin. During the Fronde revolt, Condé initially supported the crown but was later imprisoned on Mazarin's orders. After his release, he launched an open rebellion and fought the royal forces until his defeat by Turenne, after which he defected to Spain. He comman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pink Diamonds
Pink diamond is a type of diamond that has pink color. The source of their pink color is greatly debated in the gemological world but it is most commonly attributed to plastic deformation that these diamonds undergo during their formation. Pink diamonds belong to a category of diamonds called color diamonds, the generic name for all diamonds that exhibit any sort of color. Pink diamonds range from flawless to included, as do colorless diamonds. Color theories Numerous theories have been posited as to how the pink is formed in pink diamonds. The prevailing theory is that the pink is caused when the diamond is subjected to shear pressure during its formation. A similar theory is being tested on pink diamonds that originated in the Argyle Mine in Kimberley, Western Australia. This theory posits that a seismic shock propelled colorless diamonds to the surface and altered their molecular structure, causing them to appear pink. Further to these theories, recent research has also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musée Condé
The – in English, the Condé Museum – is a French museum located inside the Château de Chantilly in Chantilly, Oise, 40 km north of Paris. In 1897, Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of Louis Philippe I, bequeathed the château and its collections to the Institut de France. It included rooms remodeled as museum spaces and those left as residential quarters in the styles of the 18th and 19th centuries. Collections The collection of old master paintings is among the most important in France. It consists predominantly of Italian and French works and includes three paintings by Fra Angelico, three by Raphael, five by Nicolas Poussin, four by Antoine Watteau and five signed by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. The museum harbors a collection of 2,500 drawings and a library including 1,500 manuscripts, of which 200 are illuminated. The most renowned of the latter are the ''Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry The (; ), or , is an illuminated manuscript that was crea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Château De Chantilly
The Château de Chantilly () is a historic French château located in the town of Chantilly, Oise, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Paris. The site comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Château, built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency, and the Grand Château, which was destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s. The château is owned by the Institut de France, which received it from Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale. An historic monument since 1988, it is open to the public. The château's art gallery, the Musée Condé, houses one of France's finest collections of paintings. It specialises in French paintings and book illuminations of the 15th and 16th centuries. History Original construction The estate's connection with the Montmorency family began in 1484. The first mansion (no longer in existence, now replaced by the Grand Château) was built, between 1528 and 1531, for Anne de Montmorency by Pierre Chambiges. The Petit Château was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Government Of France
The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, as well as both senior and junior minister (government), ministers. The Council of Ministers, the main executive organ of the government, was established in the Constitution of France, Constitution in 1958. Its members meet weekly at the Élysée Palace in Paris. The meetings are presided over by the president of France, the head of state, although the officeholder is not a member of the government. The Prime Minister may designate ministers to be titled as ministers of state (), who are the most senior, followed in protocol order by ministers (), ministers delegate (), whereas junior ministers are titled as secretaries of state (). All members of the government, who are appointed by the president following the recommendation of the prim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aumale
Aumale (), formerly known as Albemarle," is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. It lies on the River Bresle. History The town's Latin name was ''Alba Marla''. It was raised by William the Bastard into a county, for his half-sister, Adelaide of Normandy. It was then held by various Norman and English nobles until its confiscation in 1196 by Philip II of France. Thereafter it was held by the houses of Dammartin, Castile, Harcourt, and Lorraine. In 1547, it was raised to the status of a duchy for Francis of Lorraine. It passed to the house of Savoy, from whom Louis XIV purchased the title in 1675 in order to bestow it upon one of his bastards as an appanage. In 1769, it passed to the House of Orléans. The English Earls of Albemarle, meanwhile, also derive their name from the area. During World War II, the town was occupied by Germany. The SS operated a subcamp of the V SS construction brigade, in which over 500 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, while parts of Germany reported population declines of over 50%. Related conflicts include the Eighty Years' War, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), Franco-Spanish War, the Torstenson War, the Dutch-Portuguese War, and the Portuguese Restoration War. The war had its origins in the 16th-century Reformation, which led to religious conflict within the Holy Roman Empire. The 1555 Peace of Augsburg attempted to resolve this by dividing the Empire into Catholic and Lutheran states, but the settlement was destabilised by the subsequent expansion of Protestantism beyond these boundaries. Combined with differences over the limits of imperial authority, religion was thus an important factor in star ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reigning monarchs, longest of any monarch in history. An emblem of the Absolutism (European history), age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIV's legacy includes French colonial empire, French colonial expansion, the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War involving the Habsburgs, and a controlling influence on the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, style of fine arts and architecture in France, including the transformation of the Palace of Versailles into a center of royal power and politics. Louis XIV's pageantry and opulence helped define the French Baroque architecture, French Baroque style of art and architecture and promoted his image as absolute ruler of France in the early modern period. Louis XIV began his personal rule of France ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diamond Cut
A diamond cut is a style or design guide used when shaping a diamond for polishing such as the Brilliant (diamond cut), brilliant cut. Cut refers to shape (Pear cut, pear, oval), and also the symmetry, proportioning and polish of a diamond. The cut of a diamond greatly affects a diamond's brilliance—a poorly-cut diamond is less luminous. In order to best use a diamond gemstone's material properties of diamond, material properties, a number of different diamond cuts have been developed. A diamond cut constitutes a more or less symmetrical arrangement of facets, which together modify the shape and appearance of a diamond crystal. Diamond cutting, Diamond cutters must consider several factors, such as the shape and size of the crystal, when choosing a cut. The practical history of diamond cuts can be traced back to the Middle Ages, while their theoretical basis was not developed until the turn of the 20th century. The earliest diamond cutting techniques were simply to polish the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. Shortly before his ninth birthday, Louis became king of France and Navarre after his father Henry IV was assassinated. His mother, Marie de' Medici, acted as regent during his minority. Mismanagement of the kingdom and ceaseless political intrigues by Marie and her Italian favourites led the young king to take power in 1617 by exiling his mother and executing her followers, including Concino Concini, the most influential Italian at the French court. Louis XIII, taciturn and suspicious, relied heavily on his chief ministers, first Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes and then Cardinal Richelieu, to govern the Kingdom of France. The King and the Cardinal are remembered for establishing the ''Académie française'', and ending the revolt of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of French Monarchs
France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Franks (), as the first king of France. However, historians today consider that such a kingdom did not begin until the establishment of West Francia, after the fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century. Titles The kings used the title "King of the Franks" () until the late twelfth century; the first to adopt the title of "King of France" (Latin: ''Rex Franciae''; French language, French: ''roi de France'') was Philip II of France, Philip II in 1190 (r. 1180–1223), after which the title "King of the Franks" gradually lost ground. However, ''Francorum Rex'' continued to be sometimes used, for example by Louis XII in 1499, by Francis I of France, Francis I in 1515, and by Henry II of France, Henry II in about 1550; it was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
