Craftsmen of tortoiseshell spectacles adapt to new century
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In a picture taken on Nov 14, 2012, an employee works on a pair of tortoiseshell spectacles frames, in the company's Maison Bonnet Paris workshop. -- PHOTO: AFP
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In a picture taken on Nov 19, 2012, Christian Bonnet (left) and his apprentice Daniel work on pairs of tortoiseshell spectacles frames in the company Maison Bonnet's Sens workshop, south of Paris. -- PHOTO: AFP
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In a picture taken on Nov 20, 2012, Franck, the son of Christian Bonnet uses a thermoforming technique on a pair of tortoiseshell spectacles frames in the company Maison Bonnet's Paris workshop. -- PHOTO: AFP
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In a picture taken on Nov 20, 2012, Franck (left), son of Christian Bonnet, adjusts a pair of spectacles on a customer in Maison Bonnet's Paris shop. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Christian Bonnet polishes a pair of spectacles frames in the company Maison Bonnet's Sens workshop, south of Paris, on Nov 20, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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An apprentice of Christian Bonnet prepares a pair of tortoiseshell spectacles frames, looking at the turtle-shell's shades, on Nov 19, 2012, in the company Maison Bonnet's Sens workshop, south of Paris. -- PHOTO: AFP
In a picture taken on Nov 14, 2012, an employee works on a pair of tortoiseshell spectacles frames, in the company's Maison Bonnet Paris workshop. -- PHOTO: AFP
In a picture taken on Nov 19, 2012, Christian Bonnet (left) and his apprentice Daniel work on pairs of tortoiseshell spectacles frames in the company Maison Bonnet's Sens workshop, south of Paris. -- PHOTO: AFP
In a picture taken on Nov 20, 2012, Franck, the son of Christian Bonnet uses a thermoforming technique on a pair of tortoiseshell spectacles frames in the company Maison Bonnet's Paris workshop. -- PHOTO: AFP
In a picture taken on Nov 20, 2012, Franck (left), son of Christian Bonnet, adjusts a pair of spectacles on a customer in Maison Bonnet's Paris shop. -- PHOTO: AFP
Christian Bonnet polishes a pair of spectacles frames in the company Maison Bonnet's Sens workshop, south of Paris, on Nov 20, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
An apprentice of Christian Bonnet prepares a pair of tortoiseshell spectacles frames, looking at the turtle-shell's shades, on Nov 19, 2012, in the company Maison Bonnet's Sens workshop, south of Paris. -- PHOTO: AFP
PARIS (AFP) - What did Yves Saint Laurent, Jackie Kennedy and the architect Le Corbusier have in common? Their eyewear, for one, as clients of the luxury French tortoiseshell artisan, Bonnet.
Four decades after the trade in tortoiseshell was banned under the 1973 CITES convention, the fourth-generation family firm sees itself as custodian of a rare craft, fashioning made-to-measure spectacles from stocks amassed before the ban.
Bonnet describes its customers - among them Audrey Hepburn, Maria Callas or presidents Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac - as "aesthetes" more concerned about timeless style than fashion.
Christian Bonnet, who learned the trade from his father and grandfather, holds the rank of "maitre d'art", an honorific title granted by France's culture ministry and currently held by just over 100 craftsmen nationwide.
