Chaumet 3-Volume Slipcase

Chaumet 3-Volume Slipcase Set

Chaumet, established in 1780, is one of the crown jewels of Place Vendôme, the epicenter of the world of Parisian fine jewelry. Following the French Revolution, Marie-Étienne Nitot and then his son, François-Regnault, became official jewelers to Napoléon I and Empress Joséphine, thus founding the business that grew into the luxury brand known today as Chaumet. In 1812 Nitot fils acquired an hôtel particulier on Place Vendôme, becoming the first fine jeweler on the square.

Throughout revolutions, economic upheavals, and two world wars, Chaumet continued to enjoy the patronage of the grand European aristocratic names while broadening its reach into the burgeoning global luxury market, finding new clients in international entrepreneurs, jet-set socials, and illustrious names from the worlds of politics and the arts. In the twenty-first century, Chaumet continues to balance its heritage of impeccable service and fine technical craftsmanship with innovative design embodying modern Parisian sophistication.

Today, after more than two centuries, Chaumet is still anchored on Place Vendôme, at the heart of Parisian luxury. These three Mémoire volumes in a slipcase elegantly encapsulate the essence of Chaumet’s two centuries of creative artistry and heritage:

Vendôme, Birthplace of a Legend

In 1812 Chaumet became the first fine jeweler on Place Vendôme, and today the house’s splendid hôtel particulier integrates the head offices, design studios, workshops, extensive house archives, and historical salons, including the new Musée Éphémère, which presents rotating themed exhibitions, and the Salon des Diadèmes, displaying more than 500 detailed nickel silver maquettes of the most beautiful tiaras created since 1780.

The Art of the Tiara

The tiara is at the heart of Chaumet’s story, the symbol of its heritage as purveyor of exquisite jewels to crowned heads, and the enduring inspiration for its technical expertise and artistry. Since the first lavish tiaras created for Empress Joséphine, Chaumet has continually reinvented the ancient adornment for each new age.

The Nature of Chaumet

Official jeweler to Napoléon I, Chaumet chose the romantic theme of flora and fauna to be a cornerstone of its creations, immortalizing leaves, flowers, and insects in precious corsage embellishments and glittering head ornaments. This ephemeral essence has become the house’s signature, uniting the brand’s past, present, and future.

The Author

Alexis Gregory is the founder of Vendôme Press, a publishing house dedicated to fine arts, music, architecture, and culture. Gregory has contributed to magazines including Vanity Fair, Condé Nast Traveler, and Town & Country, and he has written several books including The Golden Age of Travel; Families of Fortune: Life in the Gilded Age; and Private Splendor: Great Families at Home. He also wrote In the Spirit of Venice and Place Vendôme for Assouline.

Jewelry historian Vivienne Becker is an award-winning journalist and author based in London. A contributing editor to Financial Times’s How to Spend It magazine, Becker writes for publications around the world, and lectures and broadcasts on her subject. She organized and wrote the catalog for the first major exhibition of the jewelry of René Lalique, and curated Jewels of Fantasy , a traveling exhibition of twentieth-century costume jewelry. Becker’s previous books for Assouline include The Impossible Collection of Jewelry (2012), and Sevan Biçakçi (2014).

Fabienne Reybaud is a journalist at the French newspaper Le Figaro, where she writes a column on watches and jewelry. Specializing in luxury since 1991, she has worked for fifteen years as a journalist for national newspapers, as well as for various international publications. Reybaud previously wrote Watches: The Ultimate Guide for Assouline.

Title: Chaumet Set Of 3: Figures Of Style, Crown Jewels, Les Mondes De Chaumet: Place Vendome, Tiaras…

Format: Paper over Board
Dimensions: 80 pages, 8.5 × 6 × 3 in
Published: August 9, 2016
Publisher: Assouline
Language: English
ISBN – 10:1614285314
ISBN – 13:9781614285311