Charles Leung (All photos: Chaumet)
Options: What elements does high jewellery have to embody?
Charles Leung: High jewellery embodies the pinnacle of luxury and is a form of grandeur. It’s a way to share our story and history — today’s creations define tomorrow’s heritage, reflecting the taste and style of the era. Chaumet High Jewellery represents both a demonstration of the maison’s savoir faire and an expression of its excellence, while affirming its artistic freedom. It’s designed to captivate clients seeking ever more exclusive experiences and jewels.
What sets Chaumet High Jewellery apart from that of other brands?
Chaumet High Jewellery is distinguished by its daring artistry: original pieces that incorporate emblematic motifs and techniques from the house’s repertoire, passed down over generations. We have the privilege of being able to draw on a 245-year heritage, an inexhaustible source of inspiration that few maisons can boast.
Chaumet presented two distinct collections this year called Jewels by Nature and Les Signatures. Tell us more about that.
The collections were designed in two stages, resulting in a varied and complementary offering. Jewels by Nature is centred around the maison’s treasured theme that celebrates flora and fauna. It consists of 54 unique pieces, each with its own stories and unexpected surprises. The second proposition showcases the brand’s emblematic designs: Les Signatures. A total of seven necklaces recount the most beautiful episodes in Chaumet history, enhanced by exceptional stones carefully selected for their colours and extraordinary qualities.
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Why did you choose Marbella, Spain, to unveil the collection this year?
Marbella offers an idyllic setting and is in perfect harmony with the collection’s theme — it has a lush natural landscape and is situated between the sea and the mountains. It is also home to the most luxurious and illustrious boutiques. Yet, no jewellery house has ever unveiled their collections there. We were delighted to have this exclusivity and be the first to reveal this stunning summer destination to international clients, seen through a Chaumet prism.
What was the starting point of Jewels by Nature?
After a more abstract collection in 2024, Chaumet wanted to return to the subject of nature this year, one of its founding themes, but from a new angle: protection and conservation. We wished to pay tribute to the precious and sometimes fragile nature, which we are committed to protecting. Such an approach also echoes the desire to preserve the age-old jewellery savoir faire that is our strength. Foraging on the jewellery, bees and other winged creatures — without which nature could not exist — also make up the heart of the collection, embracing a wider celebration of the living world.
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What kind of emblematic savoir faire does it contain?
We employ increasingly prestigious techniques such as openwork and goldsmithing, which have been part of our heritage for decades: They reflect the excellence and exquisite craftsmanship of our artisans at the 12 Vendôme workshop. Playing on volume and asymmetry, creations such as Dahlia, Sweetshrub, Carnation and Oat and Field Star parures impress with their intricate sculptural forms. The timepieces also exhibit meticulous savoir faire: the Sword Lily and Dahlia watches are distinguished by their precious dials realised in grand feu enamel by Anita Porchet, as well as hand-crafted guilloché.
Tell us more about the exceptional stones used in this collection and where they are from.
The stones are selected according to the most rigorous criteria established by Chaumet such as the cut, colour, brilliance and the emotions they evoke. Gathering them is a labour of love. The Carnation necklace is embellished with a rare 36-carat sapphire of intense hue and quality. The Clove and Fern parures spotlight a set of unoiled, pear-shaped Colombian emeralds. A batch of Mozambique rubies, in a vibrant red enhanced with a delicate hint of raspberry, illuminates the Sword Lily parure. Matching them required several years of painstaking selection, and the ring notably features a stunning 5-carat stone.
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What about the stones chosen for the Les Signatures?
The Joséphine Eclat Floral necklaces are adorned with a 31-carat oval Ceylon sapphire of incomparable depth and brilliance; a 15-carat pear-shaped Colombian emerald, classified as ‘Minor’ for its significant lack of any treatment; and a 5.88-carat Fancy Vivid Orange-Yellow oval diamond, a rare and intense shade that illuminates the piece. Meanwhile, the Joséphine Valse Impériale necklaces are adorned with an 18.88-carat oval Ceylon sapphire of captivating colour; a 16-carat Ceylon Padparadscha sapphire, a unique hue somewhere between pink and orange; and an 11-carat pear-shaped D-FL Type IIa diamond of absolute purity and exceptional brilliance.
What are the new features found in the latest Les Signatures? Why did Chaumet choose to reinterpret pieces from its existing high jewellery collections?
The maison wanted to pay tribute to some of its most emblematic designs. Les Signatures evoke heritage, aesthetic codes and savoir faire. This ‘ode to colour’ is an integral part of our history. The design of each piece, specially adapted to show off the exceptional stones, is a testament to the excellent craftsmanship of our artisans.
This article first appeared on Nov 10, 2025 in The Edge Malaysia.
