gems, lapidary arts, Jura Mountains, France, Switzerland, gem cutting, faceting

A study of the lapidary industry of the French Jura, particularly the long-established communities of fine-stone cutters around Saint-Claude and the Haut-Jura. Boullier examines the historical development and economic organization of this specialized craft, in which gemstone cutting often supplemented agricultural work during the long winter months. The industry relied on skilled home and workshop labor, with cutters shaping and polishing imported precious and ornamental stones for the jewelry and watch trades, despite the absence of local gem deposits. The work is of particular gemological interest for documenting the organization, techniques, labor conditions and commercial structure of an important European lapidary center at the beginning of the twentieth century.