parureArticle Free Pass parure, matched set of jewelry
consisting of such pieces as earrings, bracelet, brooch,
necklace, and ring. By the mid-17th century, jewels had ceased
to be created as individual works of art expressing some idea or
fancy and had instead become mere personal ornaments that were
beautiful but lacking in any deeper significance. Consequently,
as the forms of jewels tended to become stereotyped, the
matching set of jewels, or parure, became the dominant style in
jewelry. In about 1700, parures consisted of earrings, brooch,
necklace or clasp, ring, and sometimes shoulder brooches or
buckles, all set with diamonds, either alone or in combination
with rubies, topazes, sapphires, or emeralds. In the 18th
century the kings of France had parures of great splendour, most
made of diamonds and including shoe buckles, coat decorations,
insignia, and sword hilts. For state occasions, the 19th-century
Napoleonic court imitated the parures of the ancien régime, with
the addition of a jeweled coronet