Chaumet’s director of heritage on why jewellery is an emotional gift

It’s Paris Fashion Week in March and the venerable jeweller Chaumet has just reopened its majestic Place Vendôme boutique after a year-long restoration and renovation. Clients and media amble through the boutique’s elegant new salons, which are bathed in a refined palette of white, beige and a royal blue. It’s only 10am, but the pop of a champagne cork can be heard from the Salon Malmaison, a room decked out in matrimonial white with lavishes of gold, where couples can pick out engagement and wedding rings in a secluded setting.

Some people are feeling a little skittish, no doubt. Swirling around us is the news of the outbreak of coronavirus in Europe. At the fashion shows, guests are given hand sanitiser and masks in place of goody bags, and the seating layouts are a little more spacious than usual. Yet, somewhat reassuringly, in times like these, people still fall in love. They even often still say: “I do.”

On the occasion of the reopening of the maison, Chaumet has released a new collection of ‘house rings’, called Trésors d’Ailleurs. Another traditional, much less common, token of love, these rings are like objets d’art, cast in bold architectural shapes with decadent details and lavish stonework. One yellow gold ring, set with rock crystals and two cabochon-cut Zambian emeralds, conjures up the iconic Beaux-Arts structure of the Grand Palais, while another resembles a traditional Chinese monument, cut in graphic gold forms with a tourmaline pagoda. They make for a once in a lifetime statement.

“Jewellery is a fascinating part of Art Deco history, but it is also an insight into the most personal moments of human life,” says Claire Gannet, director of heritage at Chaumet, on the morning of the boutique’s reopening. “It’s unique, because it is often an emotional gift.”

Forever items bode well in a time when we are encouraged to re-examine our habits, to consume more mindfully, and invest in pieces that will last. Jewellery, more than any other fashion purchase, is passed down through generations, and Chaumet’s extensive archive is a testament to that. Twelve such items are on display, spanning from 1789 to 2017, upstairs in the building’s historic 18th-century private apartments, which were also recently restored by Chaumet.

Since its conception, the house of Chaumet has been, through thick and thin, the go-to jewellers for royalty and high-flying society. Marie-Étienne Nitot, who founded the house in 1780, was one of the sought-after talents of this epoch and the official jeweller of Joséphine Bonaparte. The French empress was such an influence that Nitot adopted many of the empire’s motifs into his own iconography: the ears of wheat that represented prosperity, and the laurel that represented honour and victory. “After the French Revolution, it was necessary to show to Europe, and the world, that Napoleon was a strong and successful leader,” says Gannet, adding: “Jewellery was important to convey France’s prosperity to the world.”

Empress Joséphine’s presence at Chaumet is still keenly felt today. A marble statue in her form rests at the bottom of the grand stairway, while her naturalist interests (she was an avid botanist) remain part of the maison’s artistic language. “She was also a modern woman whose legend stands the test of time,” Gannet says. “She was very free, and she was essential to Napoleon’s success.” Of course, jewellery offers us a unique insight into women’s history as well – these are artefacts worn by the half of humanity that has often been overlooked by history books. “We can even see from the Belle Époque that the tiara styles were created to suit women with short hair,” says Gannet of the archival evidence. To this day, tiaras, hand-crafted by the small team of artisans in the light-filled workshop that sits above the Place Vendôme boutique, remain the most desired made-to-order item from Chaumet. The world moves so quickly around us, but our hearts’ desires haven’t changed.

Courtesy:Vogue.com