One year after the renovation of the hôtel particulier at 12 Vendôme, the new Torsade de Chaumet High Jewellery collection celebrates this historic address. A tribute to the legendary square on which the Maison was the first jeweler to open in 1812, these virtuoso creations are inspired by the sweep of the frieze wrapping the Vendôme Column to offer a modern revisiting and fresh energizing of the twist (torsade in French), a classic Chaumet signifier. While honoring the history of the Maison, this anniversary collection is also an ode to movement and to life.
Like a series of snapshots, the pieces in the collection achieve the feat of fixing the liveliness of movement through gold and stones.
It is an exercise in style illuminating the art of the line which has always distinguished Chaumet’s naturalistic creations, infusing the jewels with life- ears of wheat quivering in the wind, birds caught in flight. More spontaneous than ever, this virtuosity is allied with the endless possibilities offered by a dynamic twist, a new variation invented with each piece.
Interlacing that takes shape and unravels, graceful coils, spirals that stretch or relax… This versatile twist gives free rein to the interplay of symbols and interpretations that defines the richness of Chaumet jewelry. It poetically suggests the ceaseless movement of life or the dynamic of love. A way, in turn, of evoking the extraordinary love story of Napoléon and Joséphine, as the Maison, with its history as an imperial jeweler, celebrates the bicentenary of the Emperor’s death.
Torsade de Chaumet offers pieces that are both light and bold, contemporary and timeless. In white jewels, it highlights each creation’s radiance and line. Embracing color, it also comes in duos of diamonds and sapphires, rubies, or emeralds. Alternately entwined or suspended, punctuating the jewel with regularity or whimsically sprinkled, partially revealed or majestically elevated, the center stones are highlighted by the movement of the twist.
Susceptible to inciting emotion, these precious gems were selected one by one for their extraordinary aura. This indefinable alchemy takes into account the intensity and the homogeneity of the color, the perfection of the cut and polish, but also that indefinable feeling one gets when looking at or wearing a stone.