Mauboussin Reviews Luxury Downwards
Established in Paris in 1827, Mauboussin is a French jewelry house. It took its current name under the impetus Georges Mauboussin in 1898.
It all began in 1827, when a certain Rocher set up a jewelry workshop on rue Greneta in Paris. His successor, Jean-Baptiste Noury, ran the workshop and named it Maison Noury. In 1878, the workshop participated in the Paris World’s Fair and won the bronze medal.
Jean-Baptiste Noury took on his nephew Georges Mauboussin as an apprentice, who went on to manage the workshops in 1883. Georges Mauboussin lent his name to the jewelry house in 1922, when it was renamed Mauboussin, Noury’s successor. To maintain its reputation as a company noted for the quality of its stones, Mauboussin kept the Noury lineage in its name.
Georges Mauboussin, who had taken over ownership of the company, settled on rue Choiseul in order to be located closer to business and shopping centers. Mauboussin chose a building that combined the workshops and the sales and exhibition rooms he needed in a single location. This allowed him to hold exhibitions of diamonds, rubies and emeralds. The first show, hosted in the salons of the rue Choiseul in 1928, featured 235 pieces of jewelry, the centerpiece of which was the 24-carat Josephine emerald presented by Bonaparte.
As a result of these international exhibitions, Georges Mauboussin is named Knight of the Legion of Honor.
Milestones and stepping stones
In response to Mauboussin’s ruby exhibition, Maurice Dauzalle referred to it as “intelligence in motion” in the 1930 issue of L’Illustration. The Parisian house is listed in fashion magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar.
Mauboussin has long been a family business. After his son Pierre Mauboussin, Marcel Goulet, nephew of Jean-Baptiste Noury, entered the company and took over the business in 1934.
In the wake of the New York exhibition, Pierre Mauboussin opened “Mauboussin Inc.” with salons at 330 Park Avenue.
From 1928 to 1933, the company took part in the Decorative Arts Exhibition at the Grand Palais.
The crisis of 1929 led to the closure of the “Mauboussin Inc.” salons in New York, as well as the South American and London branches. Mauboussin was able to cope with this period, thanks in particular to princely commissions.
Mauboussin inaugurated its Place Vendôme boutique in Paris in 1955. Regarded as the hub of Parisian jewelry, new showrooms were set up there. In parallel, the company opened branches in Cannes, Vichy and Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
In 1972, Alain Goulet-Mauboussin, son of Jean Goulet, joined the company. Subsequently, Mauboussin expands into Asia. Patrick Goulet-Mauboussin came on board three years later, taking over management alongside his brother Alain.
Alain Némarq, the brand’s saviour
In 1998, Mauboussin lost one of its main customers, Prince Jefri of Brunei, for whom orders accounted for nearly 80% of the company’s sales. In 2002, Dominique Frémont, a Swiss financier, took control of the family business by acquiring 70% of the capital. He took over sole ownership in 2005. In 2002, Dominique Frémont appointed Alain Némarq to lead the company’s democratization strategy.
As artistic director, Sophie Misrahi succeeds Patrick Mauboussin. Following this reorientation, Mauboussin’s sales rose from 12.5 million euros in 2003 to 25 million euros in 2006.
By outsourcing the production of certain pieces to Asia, the jeweler was able to offer lower-priced jewelry, notably engagement rings, which contributed to the brand’s recovery. Mauboussin is also one of the first luxury jewelers to display jewelry prices in its advertising.
After 60 long years, in 2015 Mauboussin vacates its Place Vendôme location in Paris and settles on Rue de la Paix, also in Paris.
In July 2019, the Galeries Lafayette group signs an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Mauboussin in partnership with Alain Némarq (then CEO) and backed by the Swiss fund Mirabaud Asset Management.
