Mellerio dits Meller

Before Cartier or Tiffany existed, this Paris house was already old. Mellerio dates its founding to 1613 and has stayed with the same family ever since, which by most accounts makes it the oldest family-owned jewelry business in Europe. The family came from northern Italy, and the house now sits on the rue de la Paix. It earns its place as the living link to the old court trade, a reminder that the Place Vendôme names are relative newcomers. It is also the quietest name here: you are more likely to meet a Mellerio jewel in an archive or a sale than in a celebrity photograph. Its most-watched work is not a jewel but the silver Coupe des Mousquetaires, pictured, made in 1981 for the men's singles champion at the French Open.