Scientific Publications
On display in the museum of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris, this pendant dating from the 16th century, set with 2 emeralds and probably belonging to Catherine de Medicis, Queen of France from 1547 to 1559, has recently been studied in great detail by a team of gemologists and historians.
Thanks to advances in gem science and cutting-edge technology and equipment, analyses (microscopy, spectroscopy, chemistry, etc.) have recently revealed that these 2 emeralds originated in Pakistan, whereas initially a historian had suggested that they came from Colombia, without any documentation or scientific proof.
The findings on this 16th-century European pendant, set with emeralds from Pakistan, provide solid evidence of the existence of trade routes between Asia and Europe at that time. It also suggests that such emeralds could be present in other royal jewels.
To find out more about this scientific and historical research, we invite you to read the article published in the journal Gems & Gemology – Spring 2025, ‘Emeralds in Catherine de Medicis’ Pendant: an unexpected geographic origin’, by the authors Gérard Panczer, Robin Fesquet, Lasha Moshi, Geoffray Riondet, Marie-Laure Cassius-Duranton, Lætitia Gilles-Guéry, Aurélien Delaunay, Stefanos Karampelas.
