TREASURE CHEST: With close to 300,000 photographs and 55,000 drawings, Chaumet has one of the world’s largest archives of jewelry creations.
Now the Paris-based house is opening its vaults, thanks to a new exhibition space flanking its flagship store, at 12 Place Vendôme.
French actresses Adèle Exarchopoulos, Bérénice Bejo, Ludivine Sagnier, Natacha Régnier and Marine Vacth braved the rain on Saturday night to attend a cocktail party for the christening of the Musée Éphémère, which will host rotating exhibits.
Jean-Marc Mansvelt, who took over as chief executive officer of Chaumet on Jan. 1, said it was important for the jeweler to spotlight its heritage in a more explicit way.
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“People might know the name of Chaumet at best, but they are not necessarily aware of the beauty, richness, depth and density of this history and what Chaumet truly is,” he told WWD.
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The house has occasionally opened to the public the first-floor salons of its building on Place Vendôme, a listed historical monument built in the 18th century. The space is used to present its fine jewelry collections to buyers and press and host special events like Chaumet’s annual party for young French cinema talents.
“This is a sort of prelude to the big museum,” said Mansvelt, referring to the upstairs reception rooms.
“The big museum will remain the grail, but the temporary exhibition space will be an opportunity to lift the veil on a new part of our history every six months via themes that will always refer to significant aspects of the house’s history, heritage and creativity,” he added.
The first exhibition, titled “Promenade Bucolique” and set to run through Jan. 30, 2016, is devoted to naturalism.
It juxtaposes vintage creations, such as an early 19th-century tiara made of wheat sheafs set with diamonds, with contemporary designs such as a new 13-piece capsule collection of high jewelry inspired by bees. The insects are rendered in garnets, peridots and sapphires, their delicate wings outlined in diamonds.
A separate ring and brooch — both available in a limited edition of five pieces — pay homage to the wheat-sheaf tiara with designs inspired by the yellow gold jewelry of the Eighties.
Designed by Élizabeth Leriche, the exhibition does not follow a chronological approach. A wall with trompe-l’oeil framed images and a video screen gives an overview of key dates while other sections feature a selection of highly detailed preparatory drawings or black-and-white photographs and their original glass negatives.
Vintage pieces are displayed against abstract flowers made of lush satin, in contrast to a section showcasing uncut, unpolished gemstones, culminating in a crystal cave created by designer Thomas Boog.
Sagnier said it made for a potent combination. “The pieces are so refined and transformed that I think it is a wonderful idea to show the stones in their natural state,” the actress opined after touring the crowded space. “There is something very organic about it that reminds you where jewels come from initially.”
Exarchopoulos, showing off her tanned legs in a chic black playsuit and towering sandals, huddled near the entrance with her fellow thesps before disappearing upstairs, where breathing space was easier to come by.
Vacth, who is the face of Chaumet, conscientiously took in every display case, before alighting on a dainty ladies’ watch from 1910 featuring an enameled rose on one side and a pansy on the other. “I am quite fascinated by the delicacy and poetry these pieces give off,” she said. “Each has its own universe and of course, nature is everywhere.”