The French Blue
By Jeremy D. Goodwin
December 2009
Visitors to the jewelry and gemstone gallery at R.W. Wise Goldsmiths in Lenox are used to the pleasures of viewing world class stones and jewelry pieces (not to mention the opportunity to order custom pieces).
They may not know, however, that the artistry and craft on display here is part of a tradition that can be traced back through the centuries.
In the case of guiding sprit Richard Wise, some of his professional know-how dates back to a swashbuckling adventurer and gem dealer who traveled more miles around the world than Magellan. Now, Wise is resurrecting the story of this predecessor.
This is the story of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who made six legendary voyages to Persia and India between 1630 and 1668 and has long inspired Wise in his study of gemstones, a passion that has taken him around the world as well. 
Tavernier is best known for discovering a wondrous blue diamond originally called The French Blue but later reborn as the iconic Hope Diamond. Tavernier's insights into the proper evaluation of precious stones informed Wise's bestselling book, Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur's Guide To Precious Gemstones.
Now, Wise has taken Tavernier's story and spun it into an epic historical novel, named for that legendary stone: The French Blue.
"He essentially found the greatest diamond in the world. He saw some of the greatest stones that were ever produced in the world and sold a few," Wise says. And while researching his groundbreaking guide on gemology and appraisal, Wise found Tavernier's practical insights into evaluating gems most helpful. "In a sense he was my mentor across the centuries," Wise reveals.
On one of his voyages across the world in search of rare gemstones (he left no definitive account of the timing and method of the stone’s acquisition), Tavernier obtained a blue 115-carat blue diamond, which he sold to King Louis XIV of France. (In return, he received the equivalent of over 140 kilos of gold, and, Wise argues that the King’s decision to make Tavernier a nobleman 
was part of the payment as well.) Louis XIV had the stone cut into a 67 and 1/8-carat stone known as The French Blue. It was stolen along with many of the Crown Jewels in 1792 and finally emerged 20 years later (and nearly 25 carats lighter) as the Hope Diamond.
Tavernier left behind an epic account of his travels, The Six Voyages of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier. Wise has now taken up the mantle by using this fascinating but sometimes dry account as the raw subject matter for his first novel.
"It's not the most exciting book you could ever read," Wise says of Six Voyages, " but there's enough material in there to write half a dozen adventure novels. So my book took on a life of its own. It follows quite accurately the timeline of the six voyages and it has some of the same adventures Tavernier describes. It doesn't slavishly follow his text, but it stays true to the time and the voice and his opinions."
The French Blue was published in November by Brunswick House Press and has received rave notices thus far. “His handling of Tavernier's journeys, the places he goes, the people he meets and his method of locating and acquiring literally tens of thousands of jewels provides a depth of authenticity to rival the best historical novelists,” r
eviewer Nan Hawthorn wrote in The Historical Novel Review.
Wise takes pride in the fact that R.W. Wise Goldsmiths features no traditional salespeople, but instead is staffed entirely by professional jewelers, gemologists and goldsmiths. Following in the modern-day footprints of Tavernier, Wise travels around the globe to locate gemstones and add them to R.W. Wise Goldsmith’s extensive inventory of fine, colored gemstones.
The travel, though, is a little easier these days.
“Tavernier spent 40 years traveling around the world, and it was by the most primitive conveyances imaginable,” Wise says. “You couldn’t just get on a plane and wind up in Bangkok.”
Wise launched the book with a gala book signing at The Mount, featuring actor George Bergen as Tavernier himself. Additional local book signings are scheduled for the Lenox Library on December 12 at 4pm and Chapters Books in Pittsfield on January 8 at 6pm. More information about the book can be found at www.thefrenchblue.com and info about R.W. Wise Goldsmiths can be found at rwwise.com.
Jeremy D. Goodwin’s work has appeared in Preview Massachusetts, Berkshire Living, Berkshire Business Quarterly and Shakespeare Scene in the UK. He is the popular music critic for the Berkshire Eagle and associate director of publicity for Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. Jeremy is also co-editor of The Phish Companion: A Guide to the Band and Their Music. Much of his work can be found on his website www.JeremyDGoodwin.com as well as his blog, located at jeremydgoodwin.tumblr.com.