The app wasn’t always flooded with ads to the point of nauseating its users, as explained in the fascinating recent Arte documentary Instagram: the vanity fair. In April 2012, when Mark Zuckerberg bought Instagram for $1 billion, it had 25 million users and no ads. It still wasn’t turning a profit – in fact it was losing money! Eighteen months later, the day the app passed the 150-million user mark, Mark Zuckerberg imposed advertising to make his purchase profitable. At first, there was only one advertiser and one ad per day! The first to go for it, in November 2013, was Michael Kors promoting a lady’s watch. The brand’s account then gained nearly 34,000 followers in 18 hours. The rest is history…

For the 50th anniversary of the legendary R5, of which 5 million were sold between 1972 and 1984, Renault is publishing a unique model in collaboration with interior designer Pierre Gonalons. The Frenchman is fascinated by the world of high jewelry, which inspires much of his work:  “Take for example the Bouquet chair formed by an assembly of metal branches reminiscent of a jewel from the 1940s, or the 70s-style sofas with brushed golden brass details”, he explains. For its part, the hi-tech electric R5 Diamant comes in a shade of pink mixed with gold pigments and covered with a frosted varnish, resulting in a finish that’s almost like enamel. The headlights and lights are faceted like precious stones. The wheels are adorned with a golden “jewel” in the center, representing the sun, while the steering wheel and storage compartments are made of recycled marble. This unique model will be auctioned off at the end of the year.

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TFJP x Comité Colbert, putting gold on the menu

The nose ornaments in this exhibition are nothing short of sumptuous! Whether with pendants, crab-shaped, bimetal, rounded, hammered, these decorations either stand alone or form part of majestic ensembles. They’re sometimes so big that they mask almost the entire face! “These were important jewels in pre-Inca cultures. In 2006 , they discovered 42 of them in the tomb of the Lady of Cao*, sovereign of the Moche civilization. But until now, they haven’t been the subject of any scientific study,” says Carole Fraresso, the exhibition’s curator. Dating back several millennia BC, these nose ornaments herald the ultra-contemporary fashion for face jewelry.

*Discover this tomb during the trip to Peru organized with Carole Fraresso and TFJP, next October.

The Comité Colbert is sounding the alarm: certain typically French skills are in danger of disappearing in the next 10 years! The luxury industry has 80 such sectors and each year 10,000 jobs are left vacant for lack of candidates. Jewelry is very much concerned, which led Van Cleef & Arpels to organize “De Mains en Mains” in Lyon last December – a series of days in which to discover its trades: setters, polishers, jewelers, etc. Bénédicte Epinay, General Delegate/CEO of the Comité Colbert, offers several explanations: a generation born in the 1960s that will soon be retiring, people over 50 years of age who represent 36% of the workforce and people under 25 years of age who represent only 0.4%! Épinay also suggests two other reasons: the sector is in a blind spot torn between 3 ministries (Culture, Education and Industry), vocational training courses are not valued and their syllabi are out of date. To ensure the future of its know-how, the Colbert Comité is tackling the problem head on and is to convene a General Assembly of Artistic Métiers next fall.

It’s that time again, when the jewelers unveil their Christmas windows! I’ve photographed the most beautiful ones, from Cartier and Tiffany&Co. to Chanel and Christian Dior. Join me on a magical journey to the Place Vendôme and the Rue de la Paix.

Happy holidays!