Chaumet, established in 1780, is one of the great treasures of Place Vendôme, the first fine jeweler on the square, and today Chaumet continues its legacy of fine craftsmanship and innovative, sophisticated design with ever more inspired high jewelry collections. This year Assouline introduces a fourth slipcase set of Mémoire volumes on the themes of Precious Time, chronicling Chaumet’s fine jeweled timepieces; The Art of the Line, describing the process of creating a precious jewel from an artist’s drawing, and the house’s legacy of preserving these artistic renderings; and Les Ciels de Chaumet, the Maison’s newest collection, inspired by the terrestrial skies and the celestial heavens.
Les Ciels de Chaumet (by Domizio Sassetelli)
People have always gazed toward the sky to interpret its mysteries through mythology and scientific theory, and to reproduce its elements in works of art. Throughout its history, Chaumet has also looked to the ever-changing skies to inspire its poetic jeweled creations. A recurring motif in the Maison’s repertoire, the astral and divine inhabitants of the sky are highlighted in its new high jewelry collection Les Ciels de Chaumet.
Precious Time (by David Chokron)
The history of modern society is reflected in the aesthetic and technical evolution of watches since the 18th century. Although not primarily known as a creator of timepieces, nevertheless Chaumet’s chronology of watchmaking over two centuries encompasses many impressive and innovative jeweled milestones.
The Art of the Line (by Jérôme Neutres)
Each Chaumet jewel begins with an artistic idea, a drawing on paper, a gouache on cardstock, a watercolor on canvas. Within the walls of this prestigious house of high jewelry is preserved a unique treasury of 65,000 drawings executed over two and a half centuries by the Chaumet artists in preparation for the creation of its precious jewels.
David Chokron is a journalist and consultant specializing in the field of watchmaking for nearly fifteen years. He contributes to publications including Montres, Le Monde, GMT: Great Magazine of Timepieces, and WorldTempus. Fascinated by all styles of timepieces, he is passionate about understanding their techniques, codes, and history, and to make them accessible to a wide audience.
Doctor of letters and author of numerous essays on art and literature, Jérôme Neutres is an independent exhibition curator and artistic producer. Former director of the Réunion des Musées Nationaux–Grand Palais, and former president of the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris, he has organized thirty exhibitions in many museums and art centers, including those dedicated to Helmut Newton, Robert Mapplethorpe, Irving Penn, Bill Viola, Cai Guo-Qiang, and Jacques Doucet and Yves Saint Laurent.