Chanel Jewelry No. 5: Immersion in the Creative Process of Their Design
In early October 2021, Marion Cotillard caused a sensation by wearing a magnificent Chanel necklace from the new n°5 collection at a dinner at Maxim. On the occasion of the house's centenary, let's take the opportunity to look back at the legendary history of Chanel n°5 jewelry .
Chanel Jewelry Number 5: The First Collection on the Theme of a Perfume
Since its birth in 1921, the legend of Chanel No. 5 has been one of glamour and mystery. It is fitting that its centenary celebrations have revolved around these themes. So far, they have consisted of a short film called Celebrity . It stars Marion Cotillard , among others, and Chanel Factory 5. However, the Collection No. 5, made up of 123 incomparable pieces of high jewelry , inspired by Gabrielle Chanel’s seminal perfume, is probably the most significant event of this centenary.
Chanel No. 5 Haute Joaillerie: Meet the Architect of These Jewels
The person behind this esteemed collection is Patrice Leguéreau , the master gemologist and director of the Chanel jewelry design studio. The design of the Chanel No. 5 High Jewelry collection was done without haste. It began in the flower fields of Grasse, where the rose and jasmine of the Chanel No. 5 elixir are harvested.
- Luxury Chanel Camellia Jewelry
“ I went to Grasse in August 2018 with Olivier Polge. We met the Mul family, we had a great time together, ” Patrice recalls. Olivier is the nose of Chanel. He is the son of Jacques Polge who held the same prestigious position from 1978 to 2015. Joseph Mul is the French farmer who is the guardian of Chanel’s precious petals. “ It was the end of August for the jasmine harvest, and it was the beginning for me. I asked Olivier to tell me about perfume No. 5. ”
Patrice’s trip to Grasse was just the beginning of this journey. Creating a fine jewelry collection cannot be done in a hurry. “ A jewelry collection begins with art, ” he says. “ I never jump into jewelry design right away. The ideas are very general at first, with paintings, illustrations, watercolors. I also draw inspiration from Gabrielle Chanel’s apartment on Rue Cambon. I like to approach each collection in a very artistic way. ”
In fact, Patrice was so impressed by the Coromandel paintings, objets d’art, sculptures and screens in Gabrielle Chanel’s Paris apartment that he sought to recreate his own homage to her talismans in his fifth-floor studio at 18 Place Vendôme. “ I wanted to create a space that was very Chanel in spirit, a place where I could be directly connected to the Chanel universe, ” he explains. “ I worked with a very famous French sculptor, Jean-François Gambino, on a bronze lion for my office. There’s gold Coromandel-print wallpaper and curtains by Maison Lesage. ”
He also enjoys being surrounded by books that he has researched around the world. “ I like to be inspired by antiquities, because there are so many interesting and wonderful things. I like to go to the origin of creation to understand and feel its quality and strength. For example, I am really inspired by Egyptian and Mesopotamian art and lions, as well as ancient jewelry. I bring books back from all the museums I visit on my travels. I have a lot of books that I bought in Japan and China. ”
Inspiration, a long process that needs to be cultivated
Although Patrice is greatly inspired by his travels , he admits: “ Inspiration comes slowly over time. It’s not sudden, it’s a long process, an evolution that I enrich. I have a theme in mind, then I collect ideas as I go along to embellish it. And it’s when I’m in my studio that I put it all on paper. ”
Gabrielle Chanel herself designed only one high jewelry collection at the invitation of the Union of Diamond Merchants. It was at the height of the Great Depression. Thus, in 1932, the Bijoux de Diamants collection was born, made from borrowed gemstones. The 5 themes were fringe, ribbon, feathers, suns and stars. Motifs that continue to live on in the house's legend to this day. The pieces were quickly dismantled and the diamonds promptly returned. But the collection was considered a revolutionary act by the establishment at the time, as Gabrielle Chanel was considered a couturier, not a jewelry designer .
The same rebellious spirit is found in Chanel No. 5. According to James Craven, perfume archivist at London-based perfumery Les Senteurs, there are certain qualities that all iconic fragrances share: “ They have a secret. They transcend age and time. They can’t be fully explained. However, they usually offer a breakthrough at the time of their creation, and for Chanel No. 5, that was the addition of aldehydes. ”
The sources of inspiration for the Chanel No. 5 jewelry collection
100 years later, Patrice Leguéreau is on a mission to immortalize this moment in the form of fine jewelry. “ For Collection No. 5, I painted elements that inspired me at the beginning. The silhouette, the shape of the bottle, many things that helped me draw the broad outlines of this collection. I focused on flowers like the May rose, ylang-ylang and jasmine, and not on the jewelry at the beginning. I like to start from a very artistic point of view, and then slowly begin the journey towards the collection. This is how I imbue each collection and each piece with novelty, modernity and creativity. ”
He continues: “ The feeling I get when I work freehand, when I paint with watercolors for example, is a feeling of energy, which I like to put into creating jewelry. That’s why, for each collection, the jewelry is different. Every day I wore the perfume to make sure that there was a very close connection between the perfume, my creativity and my senses. That’s how I immerse myself in a collection. I always try to immerse myself in the theme, the subject, from the bottle, the cap, and little by little inside the bottle to be able to feel and understand the spirit of No. 5. ”
Chanel 55.55 necklace: a marvel that is not for sale
The centerpiece of this collection is the Chanel 55.55 necklace with its 55.55 carat flawless custom emerald-cut diamond in an 18-karat white gold bezel. It is set with 104 round diamonds and 42 baguette diamonds. “ I dreamed of creating a grandiose piece for this collection for the 100th anniversary of N°5. I really wanted a piece that was different, oversized and powerful. When I designed this necklace, we didn’t have all the stones. I experimented with a special cut, but it didn’t work the way I wanted it to. In the end, we found a rough diamond in Lesotho and we decided to cut the perfect white stone for this collection. It’s an emerald-cut diamond, like the shape of the Place Vendôme. It was my first idea, my first dream, but the last one to come true. ”
The Chanel 55.55 necklace is not for sale . The destiny of this priceless piece is to travel the world to amaze those who dream of wearing it. However, the story is far from over. “ N°5 is the beginning ,” Patrice admits. “ There will be a second collection, probably a third. It is a new story that I have created and that will develop in the future. It is a new world, a new dimension of the Chanel universe. ”
