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Story
September 14, 1904
The Lamar Register
Lamar, Prowers County, Colorado
What is this article about?
Article details Louis XIV's extravagant spending on jeweled buttons, including $5,000,000 total and specific 1685 purchases like 75 diamond buttons for 586,703 francs. Compares to a modern London sale of a marquis' jewelry.
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COST OF LOUIS' BUTTONS.
Grand Monarque Said to Have Squandered $5,000,000 In This Way.
Twenty thousand dollars for a drop-shaped pearl scarfpin, $15,000 for a pearl stud, $4,940 for a coat fastener formed of a white bouton pearl with gold bar, $850 for seven buttons en suite and $775 for a pair of brilliant sleeve links-these are a few of the prices realized at the recent sale in London of a noble marquis' jewelry.
But, after all, everything is comparative, and the marquis' gems, rare and costly though they are, would have been quite eclipsed by Louis XIV's personal jewelry.
The "grand monarque" had many crazes, but for buttons he had a positive mania. In a single year, 1685, he squandered 600,000 on them, and some of his purchases are well worth glancing at.
On Aug. 1, 1685, he bought two diamond buttons for 67,966 francs and seventy-five diamond buttons for 586,703 francs.
The buttons for a single vest cost Louis $200,000. Of the 254 "boutonnieres" used 162 contained nine diamonds each, while the remainder were single diamonds. In all, the "great monarque" is said to have spent $5,000,000 on buttons alone.
Grand Monarque Said to Have Squandered $5,000,000 In This Way.
Twenty thousand dollars for a drop-shaped pearl scarfpin, $15,000 for a pearl stud, $4,940 for a coat fastener formed of a white bouton pearl with gold bar, $850 for seven buttons en suite and $775 for a pair of brilliant sleeve links-these are a few of the prices realized at the recent sale in London of a noble marquis' jewelry.
But, after all, everything is comparative, and the marquis' gems, rare and costly though they are, would have been quite eclipsed by Louis XIV's personal jewelry.
The "grand monarque" had many crazes, but for buttons he had a positive mania. In a single year, 1685, he squandered 600,000 on them, and some of his purchases are well worth glancing at.
On Aug. 1, 1685, he bought two diamond buttons for 67,966 francs and seventy-five diamond buttons for 586,703 francs.
The buttons for a single vest cost Louis $200,000. Of the 254 "boutonnieres" used 162 contained nine diamonds each, while the remainder were single diamonds. In all, the "great monarque" is said to have spent $5,000,000 on buttons alone.
What sub-type of article is it?
Curiosity
Biography
Historical Event
What themes does it cover?
Social Manners
What keywords are associated?
Louis Xiv
Buttons
Diamond Buttons
Extravagance
Jewelry
1685
Grand Monarque
What entities or persons were involved?
Louis Xiv
Grand Monarque
Great Monarque
Where did it happen?
London
Story Details
Key Persons
Louis Xiv
Grand Monarque
Great Monarque
Location
London
Event Date
1685
Story Details
Louis XIV's mania for buttons led to spending 600,000 in 1685, including two diamond buttons for 67,966 francs and 75 for 586,703 francs on Aug. 1; a single vest's buttons cost $200,000 with 254 boutonnieres mostly of nine diamonds each; total $5,000,000 on buttons, eclipsing a marquis' recent London jewelry sale.