Germain Bapst

Germain Bapst was born on 20 December 1853 in Paris, France.

Germain was a descendant of the prestigious Maison Bapst, a family revered for their contributions as jewelers to the French court in Paris. Originally from the Swabia region of Southern Germany, the Bapst family migrated to France, where they became well known. His family lineage, through his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather Jacques-Evrard Bapst, had been linked to the French Crown Jewels for a century and a half. Paul-Alfred Bapst, the father of Germain, served as the last crown jeweler during the Second French Empire. Germain's brother, Étienne André Bapst, pursued a career that led him to become a French military general. In 1878, both men were elected as members of the Board of Directors of the Société de l'histoire de France. He joined the Société de l'histoire de Paris et de l'Île-de-France in 1879 and was later elected to its board of directors, where he served up to 1895.

Following his father's death, in 1880, Germain Bapst partnered in the jewelry trade with the Parisian jeweler Lucien Falize, a son of a goldsmith, to form Bapst & Falize. The firm was known for creating jewelry, timepieces, enamelwork, and various other jeweled items, operating from their shops and workshops on rue d'Antin in Paris.

His firm, Bapst & Falize, exhibited at the 1889 Paris Exposition in October 1889, showcasing various pieces in the French jewelry section.

Germain's business partnership with Lucien Falize came to an end in 1892.

On 5 July 1888, he married Brazilian-born Enriqueta "Queta" de Laski. They had a child named André Manuela Alexandre Joaquina Bapst. After their divorce, she later married Jacques de Gunzburg then Prince Basil Narischkine.