As I feel very well in my adopted city Versailles, and I'm fighting to overcome the clichés about the image of this city (#neoversaillaise), I wanted to put Versailles in the spotlight. I like people who are not afraid to colour outside the lines, those who think 'out of the box' and are born to stand out. Her exuberance is inspiring and contagious. She was quite a modern woman for her time, a bit of a feminist, an influencer "avant-la-lettre", but above all a "bon-vivant" with a taste for partying, culture, fashion and design. She helped put Paris on the map as a 'capitale de la mode'. I just love that smidge of - or heck, even full blown - kitsch, her willfulness and her independence. Just how she stood in life, "tout court". 

Originally we wanted to highlight the classic 18th-century perles fines - 100% Marie Antoinette! Only, she wouldn't have chosen the most common and obvious materials. That's how we ended up going with Amazonite, a surprisingly fresh stone that fits both her personality and the pastel shades of the time - and perfectly matches with this story by and for powerful women. At the beginning of the 20th century, women fighting for equal rights used the Amazonite in their emblem. Which was of course a reference to the Amazons, a tribe of warlike single women from Greek mythology. And I'm always up for a good portion of bad-assery.

But what is even more striking are the emotional and spiritual virtues attributed to this stone:

. "The Amazonite awakens the joy of life, it helps to take situations less seriously. It is a joyful stone. It helps to put things into perspective and above all to live the present moment spontaneously. This stone fights against frustrations, it promotes spontaneity and encourages human contact. »

So it is a "Feel Good" stone, it is so Marie Martens! And very adapted to the current situation... isn't it? But this is a coincidence because I didn't predict the containment and health crisis a year ago ;)