Historically, the French kings of the Renaissance era were great patrons for the art of enamelling and this technique was revived by French jewellers in the latter half of the 19th century. This wire and beadwork gold cross and chain, with its intricate panels of polychrome enamel, c.1885-1900, is a good example of the craft.
Note the use of armillary spheres to the chain – the device used by Renaissance astronomers that became a popular leitmotif symbolising wisdom and knowledge.