Legendary
The Lorgnette
A folding reading glass that becomes a jewel.
Price on request
Made for you in 4 weeks
- 165 hand-set diamonds
- Made to order in DIFC
- NFC certificate
Born in the 18th century and carried at the opera through the 19th, the lorgnette was the accessory of the elegant. JAUPIN reinvents it in 18k gold and diamonds.
Folded, it becomes a brooch to pin on your pocket; unfolded, a precise reading glass. Each lorgnette is made to order, personalised, numbered and delivered with a certificate of authenticity with an NFC chip.
Technical specifications
- Frame
- Shown in 18k white gold, folding mechanism; gold colour to order
- Stones
- 165 brilliant-cut white & black diamonds (~4.55 ct); stone colours to order
- Lenses
- Reading lenses, made to order; prescription possible depending on your correction
- Size
- 36 · 22 mm · 72 × 27 mm folded
- Edition
- Numbered, made to order
Included
- — Certificate of authenticity with NFC chip
- Free delivery within the UAE · insured international express
- Made to order — not returnable, adjustments always complimentary
The mechanism
From brooch to reading glass
The brooch
Folded
Folded, the Lorgnette is a jewel in 18k gold and diamonds, pinned on a jacket pocket or a lapel.
Open in two
One gesture
The brooch opens in two, freeing the handle from the lenses.
The lenses turn
Unfolded
The two lenses rotate into place: the Lorgnette is fully open, a reading glass held by its jewelled handle. The films on this page show the movement.
In use
For near or far
Near vision
The most common choice: reading lenses, to read a menu, a programme or a message, then fold it back into a brooch.
Far vision
Lenses for distance, to follow a performance at the opera or the theatre, as lorgnettes were first used.
Worn folded
On a pocket or a lapel, it stays a jewel for the whole evening.
The icon
The history of the lorgnette
The lorgnette appeared in the 18th century, when the English instrument maker George Adams imagined a pair of lenses held by a handle rather than worn on the nose.
In the 19th century it became the accessory of the elegant: carried at the opera and in the salons, it said as much about its owner as the jewels it was often set with.
Folding models then hid the lenses inside the handle; unfolded with a gesture, they turned a reading glass into a piece of theatre.
In 1825 the English optician Robert Bretell Bate patented handled spectacles with a spring: the lenses folded over each other into the handle, which became their case, and opened with a press of the finger.
JAUPIN reinvents it in 18k gold and diamonds. Folded, it becomes a brooch to pin on your pocket; unfolded, a precise reading glass. Prescription lenses are possible depending on your correction.
Questions about the lorgnette
What is a lorgnette?
A pair of reading lenses held by a handle instead of resting on the nose. Folding lorgnettes hide the lenses inside the handle when closed.
What is the difference between a lorgnette, opera glasses and a pince-nez?
A lorgnette is a pair of lenses held by a handle. A pince-nez has no handle: it clips onto the nose with a spring. Opera glasses are small binoculars that magnify the stage, sometimes mounted on a handle like a lorgnette. The JAUPIN Lorgnette is a true lorgnette, fitted with reading or distance lenses.
How do you hold a lorgnette?
By its handle, in one hand, raised to the eyes only for the moment you need it — to read a menu or follow a scene — without touching your hair or make-up. Then it folds away.
Is a lorgnette a piece of jewellery?
It always was: lorgnettes were made in gold, silver, tortoiseshell or mother-of-pearl and carried as accessories. Folded, the JAUPIN Lorgnette becomes a brooch in 18k gold and diamonds.
Can the JAUPIN lorgnette be fitted with my prescription?
Often, but not for every correction. Each lorgnette is made to order: whether your prescription can be fitted is checked with Jérôme Aupin before the piece is made.
Can I personalise it?
Yes: the engraving, the lenses, the colour of the stones and the colour of the gold are chosen with Jérôme Aupin during a private appointment. The Lorgnette is made only in 18k gold set with diamonds.
How is its authenticity guaranteed?
Every lorgnette is numbered and comes with a JAUPIN certificate of authenticity with an NFC chip.
