Chaumet, established in 1780, is one of the crown jewels of Place Vendome, the first fine jeweller on the square, and today Chaumet continues its legacy of fine technical craftsmanship and innovative, sophisticated design with ever more inspired high jewellery collections. Following the release in 2016 of a first slipcase set of Memoire volumes, on Place Vendome, Tiaras, and Naturalism, Assouline introduces a second set on the themes of Fetes, the Arts, and Photography, seen through the lens of more than two centuries of history and the evolution of Chaumet’s artistic creations. Photography: Chaumet has kept meticulous records of its creations, and in the late 1800s, Joseph Chaumet established an in-house photographic studio to immortalise each jewel. From large-format glass plates to cutting-edge digital, the history of photography is reflected in the house’s extensive archives. Arts: A high-jewellery atelier is akin to symphony, a fine sculpture, or an epic poem, and the successive maestros and virtuoso artisans of the Chaumet atelier have composed symphonies of artistic jewels to express new emotions through innovative styles, themes, and colors. Fetes: From imperial banquets to late nights at fashionable clubs to lavish costume balls, the Parisian spirit of joie de vivre inspires consummate artistry, and the house’s latest collection, Chaumet est une fete, evokes these moments of culture and music that have punctuated the lives of its illustrious clients and for which they adorned themselves with extraordinary jewels. AUTHORS: Antoine de Baecque is a historian specializing in the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, and a film critic specialising in the French New Wave and contemporary theater.
Author of several books on photography and prefaces of numerous monographs, Gabriel Bauret is a former editor of Zoom, Camera International, and Photographies magazines. Author of numerous essays on art and literature, Jerome Neutres is director of development of the Reunion des Musees Nationaux Grand Palais, an establishment under the French Ministry of Culture, and president of the Museum of Luxembourg in Paris. 80 pages each volume, 60 illustrations each volume, 3 jacketed hardcover volumes in a slipcase