Chaumet in a box set

Place Vendôme, tiaras and naturalism: discover the founding chapters of Chaumet’s world. The publisher Assouline’s first box set unveils the first pages of Chaumet’s library.

Assouline, Mémoire collection.
French and English editions.
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Available in bookstores.

A set of three art books invites the reader to explore the world of Chaumet, through a prism of art, culture and history. Written by luxury and jewellery experts, they demonstrate the continuity and modernity of the Maison’s style, fashioned since its beginnings from a vibrant exchange between inspiration, craftsmanship and the demands of a sparkling clientele.

This set is the first chapter of a themed collection that will make up Chaumet’s new library.

"Vendôme, birthplace of a legend "

Vendôme, birthplace of a legend tells of the arrival on the Place Vendôme in 1812 of Chaumet’s founder and official jeweller to Napoléon I and Empress Joséphine. The first jeweller to locate on the legendary square, Nitot launched Parisian high jewellery and instigated the Maison’s unique style; a combination of elegance and lightness.

The book is an invitation to explore the sources of Chaumet’s creative energy: the Hôtel Baudard de Saint-James, its rich archives, illustrious clients and the craftsmen who achieved unfailing excellence from one generation to the next.

By Alexis Gregory, author and publisher specialising in culture, luxury and art de vivre.

Can you imagine that Chaumet’s first address on Place Vendôme was the Hôtel de Gramont, at n° 15 – which is today the Ritz Hotel?

"The Nature of Chaumet"

The Nature of Chaumet illustrates naturalism, a major theme of the Maison’s creative history, sparking virtuoso jewellery pieces inspired by a vibrant and meaningful nature.

Satisfying the desire of its illustrious first clients for classic antiquity and romantic themed creations, Chaumet developed a unique interpretation of fauna and flora: bountiful, in movement, untamed and of- the-moment. Subtly layered with meanings, the symbolics of the motifs are carefully chosen and combined to form compositions that are eloquent and open to interpretation.

By Fabienne Reybaud, journalist specialising in jewellery and watchmaking.

Did you know that wheat, symbol of abundance and fertility and a versatile founding element of Chaumet creations, was one of Empress Joséphine’s favourite motifs?

"The art of the tiara"

The art of the tiara takes us on a journey through a dazzling chapter of Chaumet’s world; that of the tiara, a soaring jewellery creation invented for Empress Joséphine, conceived as a work of art and brilliantly reinterpreted through the centuries. Chaumet, inspired by the classic symbolic of victory and divine status, created an infinity of variations using the emblematic themes and motifs of each era.

The story of the Chaumet tiara is also a celebration of femininity and its gradual liberation, from the formal opulence of royal courts to the newfound freedom from convention.

By Vivienne Becker, expert in jewellery history and journalist.

Who would have thought that it was Maria Pavlovna, the Grand Duchess of Russia, who ordered the bold “waterfall” tiara from Joseph Chaumet in 1899?