750/1000 Yellow Gold Camargue Cross, 11 x 20 mm

A stunning 750/1000 (18K) yellow gold cross in the Camargue style.

This discreet little cross is perfect for a child or a woman - understated and elegant.

The Camargue cross was created in 1926. Hermann Paul designed it at the request of the Marquis de Baroncelli.
It embodies the three fundamental virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity. It alone symbolizes the "Camargue Nation," symbolically uniting the gardians, the fishermen, and the Saintes-Maries - the three female disciples of Jesus who, according to legend, came to settle in the Camargue:

• the cross and its gardian tridents express faith,
• the fishermen's anchor symbolizes hope,
• the heart represents the charity of the Saintes-Maries.

The original cross, made by Joseph Barbanson, a blacksmith in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, was crafted in his workshop on the Place de la Révolution (now the Place du Grenier à Sel). It was he who suggested to its creator that the three gardian tridents be added, to better symbolize the Camargue.

It is also striking to draw a parallel between this symbol (the Camargue cross) and the anchor used by early Christians as a coded representation of the cross - though whether this resemblance is intentional remains unknown.

Dimensions: 11x17 mm without bail, 11x21 mm with bail.

Average gold weight: 0.90 grams.