JewelryParisian Experience OmnyviewJune 22, 2016Paris, France, Jewelry, Fashion, Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, Platinum, Engagement Ring, Concierge, Parisian Experience

The Jeweler of Royalty

JewelryParisian Experience OmnyviewJune 22, 2016Paris, France, Jewelry, Fashion, Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, Platinum, Engagement Ring, Concierge, Parisian Experience

By Parisian Experience

The jeweler of royalty, Chaumet, traces its beginnings to 1780, and its history is strongly linked to that of France. Chaumet was founded by Marie-Etinenne Nitot, who set himself apart as a prestigious jeweler of the 18th century both in France and Europe. Among many of Chaumet's renown clients were Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte, and his wife Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais; she was such a voracious collector of Chaumet's pieces that she appointed Nitot to be her official jeweler. Other prestigious clients included Empress Marie-Louis, several of India's Maharajas, and American heiress and founder of the Whitney Museum, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.

For 235 years, Maison Chaumet has passed down its jewelry savoir-faire from one generation to the next .

Historic Pieces of Maison Chaumet

Bourbon-Parme Tiara

This tiara with fuchsia embellishments is knows as Bourbon-Parme. It was created in 1919 by Joseph Chaumet as a part of the wedding chest from the mother of the bride Duchess of Doudeauville, presented to the Prince Sixte of Bourbon-Parma, a descendant of Louis XIV, brother of Empress Zita of Austria and his bride Hedwidge de la Rochefoucauld. The Bourbon-Parme tiara represents intense and blossoming love, hence representation of fuchsia flower on the tiara. What is remarkable about this tiara is its demonstration of Chaumet's mastery of visual illusion in this piece -- the pear-shaped adornments on the tiara are made up of cushion-cut diamonds accentuated by several brilliant-cut diamonds. This visual illusion makes the pear-shaped adornments of Bourbon-Parme resemble large pear-shaped solitaire diamonds.

Wing brooches

This pair of brooch wings were actually part of an aigrette head piece which had removable wings that could be worn as brooches. They were chosen by the American heiress Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney for her marriage to Harry Payne Whitney.

Titrer wings aigrette

This Titrer wings aigrette is actually made of winged brooches created by Joseph Chaumet in 1915, these brooches were mounted on an aigrette setting reminiscent of the "Belle Epoque" era. These movable wings can be pointed in different directions to reflect the various stages of flight.

Bow-knot corsage brooch

Curvilinear tiara

Parisian Experience by Omnyview can help you arrange a visit of Chaumet's historic and contemporary jewelry collection, and provide you with your own personalized shopping experience for your Paris, France visit.

The benefits of our personalize shopping experience service is that you will avoid waits typical in Paris, receive the special attention you expect, and leave satisfied with service and your latest jewelry investment.

Moon Crescent hairpiece and Pierrot brooch

[TOP] Moon crescent hairpiece, circa 1880 (Joseph Chaumet) -Gold, silver, fine pearls, and diamonds.

The Pierrot brooch [below] is a creation of Béatrice de Plinval for Maison Chaumet circa 1970. The brooch depicts Pierrot, lover of the whimsical Colombine from the Comedia dell'Arte. This piece made of gold, moonstone, onyx, chysoprase, and diamonds is traditionally given to a love, as a token of commitment.

Chaumet for the Modern Woman

In honor of Chaumet's most loyal royal patron, the Joséphine collection was created in 2010. The collection evokes the tiara transformed into bracelets, rings, brooches and more. Other Chaumet collections are Hortensia collection created in 2013, reminiscent of a bouquet of flowers, and the Liens collection.

The beauty of Chaumet's creations is that they are inspired by the form and flow found in nature; flowers, bees, wheat, leaves, wings etc.

Personalized shopping at Chaumet

During a recent personalized shopping experience for one of our guest, we leveraged our knowledge of the Paris jewelry houses, their styles, and precious stones, to help him find an engagement ring that met his girlfriend's specific requirement for a --- pear-shaped blue sapphire stone. Our recommendation - Chaumet's Joséphine collection, was as a perfect fit with his requirements, and one we knew would delight his future wife.