Louise de Vilmorin was a French woman of letters. Her most famous novel, Madame de, was adapted for cinema by the German director Max Ophüls, starring Danielle Darrieux. At the centre of this game of love and lies: a pair of heart-shaped earrings, which are not dissimilar to the Maison’s emblematic sentimental jewellery.

Knowing the tastes and allure of this woman who, for her contemporaries, was elegance incarnate, Louise de Vilmorin’s friends decided to give her an accessory to use during her Parisian parties. Because she swore only by the excellence of French craftmanship, they ordered a magnificent jewelled evening bag from Chaumet for her, with a platinum and gold clasp, set with sapphires. She carried the bag so often she had it repaired several times by the Maison.

Edmond Rostand was a French poet and dramatist. His most well-known work, Cyrano de Bergerac, remains to this day the most performed play in France.

We also remember Edmond Rostand for his unconditional love for his wife, the poet Rosemonde Gérard, who dedicated these famous lines to him: ‘Each day I love you more, Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.’

Both were clients of the Maison. Their orders included several rings Edmond Rostand gave his wife, honouring their love.

Colette was a resolutely avant-garde French writer, but also an actress, mime and journalist. She became friendly with the star jeweller of the time, Pierre Sterlé, who, with interplay of volume, created unique jewellery for the Maison. He who introduced her to the world of jewellery, as she wrote in her final work, Le Fanal bleu: ‘Through spending time with him, I became familiar with a luxury which was not my own. I learned names. I handled, the at first cold but quickly warming beautiful yellow metal, troublemaker and war-monger. More than once I held, before its owner did, some admirable toy, promised, feverishly awaited. I enclosed a stone in the hollow of my hand, as naked as a slave without master.’