founded 1780 founder marie tienne nitot headquarters 12 place vend me paris area served worldwide key people marie tienne nitot joseph chaumet owner lvmh website www.chaumet.com a shop at central hong kong the house of chaumet french o.m founded in 1780 is a high end jeweller based in paris . chaumet is a jewellery and watchmaking designer 1 founded in 1780 by marie tienne nitot . fourteen artisans ply their trade in the workshop on place vend me under the direction of foreman pascal bourdariat . as of 2012 it was owned by lvmh . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 nitot period 1780 1815 1.2 fossin and morel periods 1815 1885 1.3 chaumet art deco period 1885 1944 1.4 chaumet period resurgence of the brand 1944 1987 1.5 lvmh period 1987 present day 2 know how and creation 2.1 jewellery and fine jewellery 2.2 watchmaking expertise 2.3 the arrival of claire d v rakoff 3 muses 4 the house s collections 4.1 fine jewellery collections 4.1.1 liens 4.1.2 jos phine 4.1.3 bee my love 4.1.4 attrape moi 4.1.5 other collections 4.2 watchmaking collections 4.2.1 class one 4.2.2 dandy 4.2.3 khesis 5 the chaumet museum and collection 5.1 list of exhibitions organised by the chaumet museum 5.1.1 paris two centuries of design 5.1.2 napoleon in love jewellery of the empire eagles and the heart 5.1.3 le grand frisson sentimental jewellery from the renaissance to the present 5.1.4 200 years of watchmaking design 5.1.5 journ es particuli res 2011 5.1.6 journ es particuli res 2013 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit nitot period 1780 1815 edit marie tienne nitot 1750 1809 settled in paris in 1780 after having served his apprenticeship at auber then jeweller to queen marie antoinette . his aristocratic clientele remained loyal to him until the french revolution in 1789 . it was after that that the nitot jewellery house really took off becoming the official jeweller of napoleon i in 1802 . with the help of his son fran ois regnault 1779 1853 nitot created the jewellery that would offer the french empire splendour and power . the jewellery for napoleon s wedding to jos phine de beauharnais and later to marie louise de habsburg lorraine was created by nitot . he designed and set napoleon s coronation crown the hilt of his sword as well as many other pieces for the court . fran ois regnault nitot took over his father s jewellery house on his death in 1809 and continued his activity until the fall of the empire in 1815 . napoleon s exile caused nitot a fervent royalist to withdraw from the jewellery house selling the business to his foreman jean baptiste fossin 1786 1848 . fossin and morel periods 1815 1885 edit assisted by his son jules 1808 1869 fossin elegantly interpreted romantic jewellery pieces inspired by the arts of the italian renaissance and the french 18th century but also naturalist themed pieces . the elite of the period were won over and the family of louis philippe king of france from 1830 to 1848 as well as the duchesse de berry succeeded napoleon on the list of famous clients of what was to become chaumet . they included personalities such as anatole demidoff a russian prince married to napoleon s niece princess mathilde bonaparte as well as many painters sculptors and writers both french and foreign . after the french revolution of 1848 the activity of maison fossin slowed significantly in france leading to the establishment of a boutique in london with a workshop entrusted to jean valentin morel 1794 1860 assisted by his son prosper who was born in 1825 . they attracted a prestigious clientele which included queen victoria who granted jean valentin morel a permit as an official supplier . 2 at the london world s fair of 1851 morel resumed the enamelling tradition of the 16th and 17th centuries and produced hardstone goblets with enamelled mounts 3 chaumet art deco period 1885 1944 edit in 1885 joseph chaumet 1852 1928 married marie the daughter of prosper morel thus taking control of the house . the renaissance style was still used in particular for tiaras very much in vogue at the time which chaumet would make one of its specialities ; but chaumet also drew inspiration from japanese art which was gaining popularity in jewellery design at the time . in 1907 the workshops and boutique were set up at 12 place vend me which they would never leave . marcel chaumet 1886 1964 succeeded his father joseph in 1928 at the height of the art deco period . the jewellery house participated in the 1925 exposition des arts d coratifs in paris becoming a leader in this trend . jewellery was more geometric following the boyish style of the 1920s becoming more feminine during the 1930s . colours materials and fine gems were imperative for jewellery . from the 1920s onwards the renown of the jewellery house spread to the world of the arts and show business . in 1934 maison chaumet sponsored the establishment of the young jeweller pierre sterl who was already designing its jewellery . in the same year the house closed only to re open at the end of the second world war 4 chaumet period resurgence of the brand 1944 1987 edit in the wake of the post war years chaumet stood out as a precursor embodying the taste and creativity of the parisian woman . chaumet adapted the new look of the pioneers christian dior and yves saint laurent attracting the fashionable women of the time . 5 in 1958 the sons of marcel chaumet jacques and pierre were appointed executive directors of the house . they took over the breguet brand in 1970 . fran ois bodet a maison chaumet executive renewed the brand and positioned breguet in the high end watchmaking segment . 6 the 1970s were marked by originality and unconventional combinations such as pairings of diamonds coral and peridot mounted on yellow gold . 5 the lien ring a circle encompassed by a gold loop in the centre was created in 1977 . in the 1980s diamonds were added to the base and the ring was produced in white gold with a double circle . in the mid 1990s the lien became a cross before making way in 2002 for a lien set with diamonds . a premiers liens collection was launched in 2007 in yellow white and pink gold versions . 7 in the 1980s ren morin the artistic director used his varied influences to promote the resurgence of precious objects . having joined chaumet in 1962 morin famously created a bull s head from a block of lapis lazuli . 8 headed by the brothers jacques and pierre chaumet the company filed for bankruptcy in 1987 with liabilities of 1.4 billion francs eight times the annual turnover in particular due to heavy losses in their diamond purchasing and resale business after the drop in prices worldwide . 9 the two brothers were convicted of illegal banking activities for having opened accounts that promised high interest on the principal . convicted of bankruptcy fraud breach of trust and illegal exercise of the banking profession they were sentenced respectively to five years imprisonment of which two were mandatory and four years of which six months were mandatory following the verdict handed down in december 1991 . their sentence was reduced by the paris court of appeal to six months imprisonment already served while in custody . 10 lvmh period 1987 present day edit after their fraudulent bankruptcy chaumet was bought in 1987 by investcorp a leading bahrain based investment bank . the company lost 10 million francs in 1995 1997 but became profitable again in 1998 with a revenue of 280 million francs and was bought by lvmh in october 1999 . 11 after an unsuccessful attempt to penetrate the american market in the late 1990s the company opened stores in asia to fuel growth . chaumet was now part of the watch and jewellery brands that included tag heuer zenith fred hublot montres christian dior and de beers diamond jewellers a joint venture between the lvmh and de beers groups . in 2006 the brand became established in china opening 24 boutiques in the country . 12 chaumet s clientele is mainly japanese and french but china represents 25 % of sales . 13 on 9 june 2011 the responsible jewellery council announced the certification of the french jewellers chaumet . this distinction attests to responsible ethical social and environmental practices as well as respect for human rights . a member of the responsible jewellery council since 2005 chaumet became the tenth member certified by the rjc . 14 in 2010 2011 the company s estimated sales were 60 million in total sales and 30 million in watches . 1 in january 2014 it started a more accessible liens range of watches . 15 know how and creation edit the place vend me groups together the house of chaumet s main activities . in addition to the head office the townhouse plays home to the design studio and the fine jewellery workshop . 16 jewellery and fine jewellery edit chaumet controls all the design and production processes of the pieces issuing from its workshops . after being supplied with gold and gems its fourteen artisans mould melt polish and set traditionally the pieces created by the house s designers . the movements of the watches produced by chaumet are manufactured in switzerland . in 1969 jacques combes joined chaumet as an apprentice . 17 appointed foreman in 1989 he was made a chevalier of the order of arts and letters in july 2005 . 18 on 28 january 2011 pascal bourdariat succeeded jacques combes becoming the twelfth master of the house . 19 six jewellers under the direction of a master craftsman create all of the special orders and fine jewellery 20 collections by hand . 21 the house of chaumet seeks to preserve its traditional know how which guarantees the quality of its work . for example the workshop has conserved the wooden workbenches which have remained the same for 200 years . 21 one of the practices unique to chaumet is working with mock ups for items of jewellery made of nickel silver . this makes it possible to show the client the shape or size of the item of jewellery before it is produced in the workshop . 20 22 chaumet s jewellery making expertise enables the creation of exceptional pieces of jewellery and limited collections . this is the case with the 12 vend me collection which was created to mark the 26th biennale des antiquaires in september 2012 . 23 the collection s name refers to the address of the boutique and the workshop located at 12 place vend me . 24 the twelve pieces including four diadems 25 in this collection are a tribute to the different styles adopted by the house over the generations . 26 a number of the items of jewellery in the 12 vend me collection are transformable a long necklace may be lengthened by the addition of two bracelets 27 and an invisible system makes it possible to detach the aigrette from a diadem . 28 watchmaking expertise edit as a designer of fine jewellery chaumet began to produce precious watches 29 from the 19th century onwards . the house has joined forces with swiss watchmakers such as jaeger lecoultre and patek philippe 30 to create exceptional timepieces . the pair of bracelet watches from 1811 commissioned by eug ne de beauharnais was created by nitot . made of gold pearls and emeralds its manufacture combined fine jewellery with a meticulous watchmaking movement . 31 it was at this time that the house succeeded in placing miniature dials at the centre of its bracelets . 32 one of the most recent creations the