Joaillière

Gemstones from Gem Trader by Louis Kornitzer

Malachite Doors at Chapultepec Castle, Mexico. Made from Russian malachite.

In 1775 Viceroy of New Spain Bernardo de Gálvez ordered the construction of a country house for himself at the highest point of Chapultepec Hill. The site of the hill was a sacred place for Aztecs. Chapultepec Castle is one of only two Royal Castles in the Americas, as well as the only one in North America that was used to house sovereigns: the Mexican Emperor Maximilian I, and his consort Empress Carlota, during the Second Mexican Empire. The Emperor brought from Europe countless pieces of furniture, objets d’art and other fine household items that are exhibited to this day.

Chapultepec castle has some of the world’s most spectacular examples of russian malachite