Chaumet

A House closely linked with Empress Josephine

The story of the House of Chaumet's begins a century before it was named as such. It was in fact in 1780 that the jeweller and goldsmith Marie-Etienne Nitot set up shop in Paris as a master jeweller, having learned his trade from Ange-Joseph Aubert, Queen Marie-Antoinette's goldsmith. Marie-Etienne Nitot was responsible for the setting of Napoleon I's coronation sword. But it was Bonaparte's wife, Joséphine, to whom Marie-Etienne Nitot owed his European fame when he became her official jeweller. He found particular inspiration in the English-style park and rural disorder of Malmaison Estate, the Empress's country retreat: nature has always been and still remains a key theme in Chaumet's creations. Empress Josephine's grace and her modern, free-spirited character still inspire the House of Chaumet to this day. Indeed, the Place Vendôme jeweller has offered a special collection in her name ever since 2010. It features the tiara, a speciality of the House.

Chaumet: From classicism to Art Deco, style and elegance

Nitot the jeweller set up shop at number 15 Place Vendôme, which is now the Ritz. François-Régnault Nitot then succeeded his father. He became the official jeweller of Bonaparte, the emperor who wanted to transform Paris into the centre of luxury and fashion. He retired at the time of Bonaparte's exile, in 1815, giving way to the Fossin family, whose father as head of the workshop was the boss of the House not yet called Chaumet. The Morel family, who had already made their mark in London, took over and reintroduced the tradition of enamelling. These successive company heads positioned Parisian jewellery in the category of romantic jewellery which celebrated nature. This was at the time of the "Belle Epoque". But it was Joseph Chaumet, Morel's son-in-law, who was to lend his name to the Parisian House. He established Chaumet at 12 Place Vendôme, its current headquarters, in 1907, created the fine jewellery workshop and managed to assert Chaumet as an embodiment of style and elegance. At Baudard de Saint James Mansion, the House made tiaras and aigrettes its speciality. It was time to reinterpret nature, with naturalistic jewellery representing simple foliage adorned with ribbons, and with garden plants, roses, pansies and hydrangeas transformed into gold and diamonds. When Art Deco is in vogue, women adopt more boyish looks, headbands and necklaces become fashionable, and lighter and more supple platinum creations gain popularity. Chaumet's jewellery adapted and adopted geometric patterns, playing with contrasts, especially between black and white.

The story of Chaumet's signature collections

Chaumet's style is synonymous with Parisian good taste, with touches of modernity buoyed by avant-garde artistic trends. This jewellery are designed by innovative jewellers such as Pierre Sterlé and René Morin. But beyond its sublime creations, the history of the House of Chaumet is hardly one of still waters. Jacques and Pierre, Marcel Chaumet's sons and Joseph Chaumet's grandsons, took over the management of Chaumet in 1958, a position which they held for almost thirty years. The House took full advantage of the advent of jewellery collections at the end of the 1950s to expand both the variety of its models and to widen its clientele. In 1977, Chaumet launched its first signature collection, Liens, which celebrated the attachment between two people. Nothing seems to go smoothly, however, at 12 Place Vendôme. Chaumet filed for bankruptcy in 1987, its directors were convicted of fraudulent banking activities, accused, among other things, of embezzlement and breach of trust. Bought by Investcorp, the company remained in the hands of the Bahraini investment fund for over ten years. Since 1999, it has been part of the LVMH group.

Iconic collections, the conquest of Asia

This turbulence in no way prevented Chaumet's jewellers from continuing to handcraft fine jewellery collections and special commissions. Nor the designers from imagining ranges of beautiful jewellery, all while the House set out to conquer Asia. In 2006, 24 boutiques were opened in China, a country that today represents a quarter of the company's sales. At the same time, Chaumet also met with great success including the reissue of Links in 2008, the Joséphine signature collections and particularly Bee My Love two years later. Echoing the theme of nature, recalling the House's beginnings and Empress Josephine's passion for botany, Bee My Love reimagines the bee and the cells of the beehive to create a marvellous collection of rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings. Combined with Chaumet's tradition of excellence, this omnipresence of nature in its creations has been the House's key theme throughout its 240 year history.