A museum piece

One of my favorite places to walk around in is the Village St. Paul. In the village, there are a number of little antique stores where one can see amazing things but my favorite one for jewelry is hands down Cote Cailloux. It's not very big but in terms of content, it is a veritable Ali Baba's cave.  It has the added benefit of having as proprietor one of the friendliest people I have ever met in this city renowned for surly shopkeepers. I can literally spend hours in Diane's store looking at everything. She has jewelry from all eras, from turn of the century to the present and she also makes her own. Diane's jewelry is massive and wonderfully intricate, perfect for haute couture. 

What I like best about visiting is Diane's generosity in showing me the rare and the beautiful things she acquires for her personal collection.  Case in point, this magnificent 1930s cuff style bracelet.  Its wonderful face is made of landscape jasper but wait, what makes it special is....

the fact that it opens to reveal a built in mirror and a small powder box. I literally gasped in delight when I saw it.  Back in the thirties, ladies took a lot of care with their toilette and this bracelet was one of the ways by which they ensured that they looked their best. Isn't that cool?

I just had to take pictures of this marvelous museum piece to share with all of you.  Here below is another shot of it from the side. Its wonderfully built of solid metal but for all of that is surprisingly light.

Needless to say, I had a hard time putting this beauty back in the store....