Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

A 9ct gold hollow curb-link bracelet, suspending a Napoleon III gold 20 Francs coin, the reverse plained smooth and later engraved as an Augis médaille d’amour, inscribed with the wording ‘aujourd’ hui, que heir et bien que domain’, (translating from the French as ‘today, more than yesterday, less than tomorrow’, the ‘plus’ and ‘minus’ symbols inset with rubies, (one ruby missing), with 9ct gold swivel fob seal, the bracelet with 9ct gold padlock clasp, bracelet length 18.5cm. £500-£600

The Médaille d’amour was created by A. Augis, incorporating a phrase from a French 19th century poet and playwright Rosemonde Gérard, who wrote to her husband, Edmond Rostand:
“Car, vois-tu, chaque jour je t’aime davantage. Aujourd’hui plus qu’hier et bien moins que demain”. (For you see, each day I love you more, today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow).
In 1907, Alphonse Augis, a jeweller in Lyons, was inspired to take this line of the poem and create his signature ‘Mèdaille d’Amour’. The designs vary but generally feature the quote from the poem with ‘more than’ and ‘less than’ represented by a plus and minus sign, often embellished with gems, traditionally rubies.