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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

qui sacrent l'or et l'argent

English translation:

paying homage to gold and silver

Added to glossary by philgoddard
Jan 14, 2013 16:37
11 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

qui sacrent l'or et l'argent

French to English Art/Literary Textiles / Clothing / Fashion jewellery
Hi

About a jewellery collection with an esoteric feel (so it says!). There is certainly a "mystical" mood to the text:

"Des bijoux incantatoires qui sacrent l'or et l'argent."

Not to help matters, there are no photos.

Brainstorming welcome, thank you!
Proposed translations (English)
4 +3 paying homage to the gold and silver
4 +3 with the talismanic allure of gold and silver
3 +3 [jewellery] that celebrates the mystique of gold and silver
3 +2 give pride of place to gold and silver
3 +1 glorify
4 showcasing why silver and gold are precious metals
Change log

Jan 15, 2013 17:10: philgoddard Created KOG entry

Discussion

Michael GREEN Jan 14, 2013:
Incantatoire Agree with philgoddard - I would have gone for "bewitching", or a synonym, if I could find one that I like ...
philgoddard Jan 14, 2013:
Incantatoire It can mean "ritual", as in the following:
"La présence très fréquente d’incisions parallèles ou de lignes de ponctuation à proximité des figures d’animaux dans les grottes décorées autorise à considérer qu’elles peuvent avoir été tracées au cours d’un processus incantatoire."
And it's interesting that my reference gives "ensorcelant" as a synonym - "enchant" and "incantation" both have the same root. So you could translate it as "bewitching".
http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/incantatoire
Sandra Petch (asker) Jan 14, 2013:
@Helen I'm all for toning it down!
Helen Shiner Jan 14, 2013:
@Sandra Is your audience going to understand incantatory jewellery deifying gold and silver or do you plan to tone it down a bit?!
Sandra Petch (asker) Jan 14, 2013:
It's a press release and nothing in it is straightforward!
I have nothing for "incantatoire" as yet, in fact nothing for the sentence at all. I have images of ritual chanting but it seems ridiculous applied to jewellery, however "esoteric".
polyglot45 Jan 14, 2013:
and what are you using for incantatoires ? that could be the key
Helen Shiner Jan 14, 2013:
@Sandra It would help to know what kind of text this is - a critique, a catalogue, etc. What is the general drift of the text?
Sandra Petch (asker) Jan 14, 2013:
@Helen I don't think "sacrer" can mean to eschew. Phil has the right meaning. As for futher context, there isn't much:
"Bracelets, bagues, pendentifs, des bijoux incantatoires qui sacrent l'or et l'argent fétiches de [designer]."
I'd rather not say who the designer is as the collection hasn't been released yet.
Helen Shiner Jan 14, 2013:
Comments removed Because there is insufficient context to get a feel of the register.
philgoddard Jan 14, 2013:
It means to give a special place to, or pay homage to. But could you tell us what comes before and after this, Sandra, so we can get more of a feel for the whole text?

Proposed translations

+3
40 mins
Selected

paying homage to the gold and silver

Incantatory jewelry paying homage to the gold and silver so beloved of X.

Sacrer means to crown a sovereign or consecrate a priest, but I think 'pay homage to" conveys the right kind of idea.

I would leave "incantatoires", (a) because it's what the French says and (b) because it conveys the idea of ritual and worship. And "fétiche" means that they love gold and silver, which are recurring themes in their work.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 43 mins (2013-01-14 17:21:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The full context is given in the discussion entries - hence my translation of the whole sentence.
Reference:

http://dictionary.reverso.net/french-english/sacrer

Peer comment(s):
agree cc in nyc : nice, but suggest dropping "the" // Oh, sorry, I see now... I missed the end of your sentence. :o
3 mins
No, it wouldn't make sense without "the" in my version, but thanks for agreeing.
agree Verginia Ophof
1 hr
agree Victoria Britten
4 hrs
neutral Helen Shiner : It feels rather wrong to pay homage to inanimate metals instead of the more normal people. Perhaps if the sentence was reworded to paying homage to X's designs in his favoured gold and silver.
6 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks!"
+1
28 mins
French term (edited): sacrer

glorify

So perhaps: "...that glorifies gold and silver"?

But there are lots of other possibilities: consecrate, sanctify, ennoble, elevate.

Have fun!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 33 mins (2013-01-14 17:11:21 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Oops, plural verb is needed: "...that glorify," etc.
Peer comment(s):
neutral philgoddard : I wonder if this is a bit over the top - also, glorify can have negative connotations, as in "glorified trinkets".
5 mins
IMO "sacrer" is not exactly pedestrian. So how about "ennoble"? Unambiguous enough?
agree emiledgar : My first thought, glorify fits perfectly with the exageration of "sacrent"
16 hrs
Thank you.
Something went wrong...
+2
37 mins

give pride of place to gold and silver

perhaps ?
Peer comment(s):
agree philgoddard : Good idea.
3 mins
agree GILLES MEUNIER
1 hr
Something went wrong...
+3
1 hr

[jewellery] that celebrates the mystique of gold and silver

Just a suggestion...
Reference:

http://www.helium.com/items/824778-investing-in-gold-gems-and-platinum?page=2

Peer comment(s):
agree philgoddard : Good idea.
4 mins
Thanks, Phil!
agree Michael GREEN : Yes, especially with "bijoux incantatoires" earlier in the phrase
32 mins
agree Helen Shiner : Maybe something as simple as 'exotic' jewellery in combination with this phrase would do. Anyway, I think this is a great, natural-sounding solution.
44 mins
Something went wrong...
+3
2 hrs

with the talismanic allure of gold and silver

yet another option! Perhaps turn the sentence around a bit?


(spellbinding jewellery) with the talismanic allure of gold and silver

or

the designer X's talismanic use of eternally-alluring gold and silver to create spellbinding jewellery, bracelets...

I don't think "incantatory" quite works here and suggest "spellbinding" or would agree with Michael's "bewitching" and while I agree with Phil about "pay homage to" (for "sacrer")

fétiche could be "fetishist" but I prefer "talismanic" to bring in a ritualistic aspect,

and I think "allure" or some variation, alluring, enchanting, mystical...brings in the mystique of the gold/silver

or even "talismanic mystique" though it might be a bit OTT
Note from asker:
Talismanic is great but I already have it elsewhere in the text (which of course you couldn't know).
Peer comment(s):
agree philgoddard : I think this is really good - the best idea so far.
8 mins
wow, thank you kindly!
agree SafeTex : This is novel and fits the context
1 hr
Thank you!
agree Helen Shiner : or even more simply 'captivating' or 'entrancing' instead of talismanic (though I follow your arguments in favour of it).
4 hrs
Thanks Helen, yes, various options are possible here
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

showcasing why silver and gold are precious metals

Hello,

In other words, this jewelry collection gives gold and silver its proper due as the precious metals that they are. But I don't like saying that as a translation (i.e., "giving silver and gold their proper due").

It's not really about expressing the mystical side of the jewelry; that's in the word "incantatoire".


The Guardian's g2 has featured the Astley Clarke Colour Timbrel Ring as part of its Style 'Jewellery Edit', *showcasing* why this gem is stylish in ...

http://www.astleyclarke.com/us/press/guardian_220811



I hope this helps.
Something went wrong...
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