October 17, 2024 |
There’s a new buzz around Chaumet, the Parisian heritage jewellery maison with a history reaching back to 1780 and a dynamic vision for the future. A playful, youthful edge has crept into the brand’s quiet elegance, a fresh translation of tradition into modernity that has been encapsulated in its latest Bee My Love collection.
from left: Bee My Love earring and necklace in rose gold and diamonds by CHAUMET, from top: Bee My Love pendant in yellow gold and diamonds, Bee My Love pendant in white gold and diamonds and Bee My Love pendant in rose gold and diamonds by CHAUMET
Its instantly recognisable gold and diamond honeycomb-patterned jewels now include ear cuffs, hoop earrings, a long, loose lariat, a fistful of mix-and-match band rings and a wristful of joyfully stackable bangles, with a few diamond-winged bees. The crisp linear abstraction is given second-skin sensuality in a wide, slinky, articulated bracelet and supple, streamlined collar, while little ring-shaped pendants roll around on gold chains. As the name suggests, the geometric, rhythmic design references the bee and its miraculously perfect structure of hexagonal waxy cells, in which honey is stored or eggs are laid. The mirror-polished gold suggests pollen-laden sunshine and the diamonds honour the brilliance of the bee’s complex operation of pollination and comb construction. I can see a connection in how the crystallisation of the diamonds and the formation of the honeycomb represent sacred geometry.
Originally launched in 2011 with a timely message about the dwindling bee population, Bee My Love fuses elements of style and story: the bee motif, the emblem of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, the jewellery house’s first client; naturalism that runs like a leitmotif throughout Chaumet’s archival design books; and the emblem-laden love jewel that charted the passionate affair between Napoleon and Joséphine.
Charles Leung, the CEO, says these components came together naturally, gathered like nectar from the maison’s archives, to create what has become the fastest-growing of its three signature collections (the others being Liens and Joséphine). “We continue to reinvent the theme. Bee My Love pays tribute to Chaumet as the naturalist jeweller, while the honeycomb is a symbol of community, building relationships, belonging to a group with the same values. We find that it touches our clients emotionally and expresses love, friendship, family, romance, self-respect, the growing awareness of nature, appreciation of everything around us.” He adds that the hexagon represents France, with the shape being incorporated into the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic medals, which Chaumet also designed. “The honeycomb design is rooted in the belief that bees represent the French community.”
from left: Bee My Love rings and bracelet in rose gold and diamonds and Bee My Love ring in yellow gold and diamonds by CHAUMET, Bee My Love cuff in rose gold and diamonds by CHAUMET
When Napoleon was proclaimed emperor in 1804, he and his advisers set about choosing emblems of sovereignty, authority and power. Napoleon modelled himself on the emperors of ancient Rome, whose leaders rose to power, as he did, through military might, but he was also inspired by early French rulers, especially Charlemagne. While the eagle was selected as the imperial device, Napoleon chose the bee as his emblem. Symbolising industriousness and immortality, it resonated with ancient pharaonic associations, but most significantly was linked to the origins of France. In the 17th century, the discovery of the tomb of Childeric I, a 5th-century ruler of Roman Gaul, unearthed a swarm of 300 gold ornaments shaped as bees (or perhaps cicadas) with inlaid garnet wings thought to have been used to decorate his ceremonial cloak. Taking his lead from this king, Napoleon ordered his coronation cloak to be smothered with golden bees; captured at Waterloo in 1815, it was fastened with a silver gilt bee clasp. He appointed Marie-Étienne Nitot as his official court jeweller, elevating the goldsmith and establishing his clientele of royalty and nobility. Nitot, later joined by his son François-Regnault, was the founder of the company that would later become Chaumet, and the bee became embedded in the maison’s story.
While Bee My Love draws a golden thread of continuity through the Chaumet saga, the honeycomb construction also delivers a modern message of connectivity – of time, cultures and styles, from Chaumet’s 19th-century naturalistic romanticism to rigorous architectural art deco. It’s tempting, too, to see a witty whiff of Victorian sentimentalism and wordplay in the title Bee My Love. As Leung explains, Chaumet’s design books are alive with insects, butterflies, dragonflies, beetles and spiders, hovering among effusive floral designs, and Bee My Love was a way of giving new meaning and a young, fashion-forward vibe. With edgy playfulness and effortless versatility, the new models offer inclusivity, welcoming clients into the Bee My Love community, which is particularly strong in the Middle East and Asia Pacific region. The pick-and-mix stackability of the rings, earrings, bangles and necklaces, which lend themselves to layering, appeal to Middle Eastern clients, enabling them to belong to a style tribe and show individuality in how they mix and match.
from left: Bee My Love earrings in white gold and Bee My Love necklace in white gold and diamonds by CHAUMET, Bee My Love hoop earrings in yellow gold and diamonds, Bee My Love necklace in yellow goldand diamonds and Bee My Love medallion necklace in rose gold and diamonds by CHAUMET
Asian clients, Leung says, enjoy the reassurance of Chaumet’s rich history. Bee My Love, refined through exquisite crafting, shines with a fresh, radiant silkiness, the light-reflecting quality of the polished gold intensified by the addition of striking Taille Impératrice, Chaumet’s exclusive hexagonal diamond, echoing the honeycomb, with 88 meticulously plotted and hand-cut facets (88 being a lucky number in Asian culture).
The jewels play with hexagonal compositions so that the little zig-zag silhouettes of bangles click together pleasingly. Seemingly random placements of diamonds inject vitality and movement, while the polished gold alternates with openwork hexagons on the wide bracelet. There’s star power in this new buzz, a sign that, as Leung states, “Chaumet is no longer sitting quietly in the corner.”
from left: Bee My Love earring in rose gold and diamonds by CHAUMET, from top: Bee My Love bracelets in rose gold and diamonds, white gold and diamonds, rose gold, white gold, and rose gold and diamonds by CHAUMET
Bee My Love earrings in yellow gold and diamonds by CHAUMET
Taken from Issue 73 of 10 Magazine – RISING, RENEW, RENAISSANCE – out NOW. Order your copy here.
CHAUMET: BEE MY LOVE
Photographers ANTOINE AND CHARLIE
Creative Director SOPHIA NEOPHITOU
Text VIVIENNE BECKER
Sittings editor GEORGIA EDWARDS
Model ROE ELEMA at Platform
Hair TIE TOYAMA at Calliste Agency
Make-up NATSUKI ONEYAMA
Manicurist SOPHIE ADAM at Calliste Agency using Kure Bazaar
Digital operator CHRISTIAN HORVATH at ShotList
Photographers’ assistant JULES MARTIN
Production TRISTAN GODEFROY
Casting MAXIME VALENTINI at 2b Management
Special thanks to MARIA TERESA
