Treasure trove

What makes Chaumet stand out among the world's high jewelry houses is its pursuit of perfection in details. Its collection for this year is inspired by hydrangea illustrations from 1870. Photos Provided to China Daily

Bags of style

Stand out with style

Whether it is wine or the weather, one never learns to appreciate how good things are if there is no basis for comparison. For Paris-based Chaumet, which first catapulted to fame as Napoleon's jeweler, excellence lies in the details. "You only appreciate something if you can compare it with something else. We should be allowed to compare. I always believe that the little details are what make you good to very good, very good to excellent," says Beatrice de Plinval, Chaumet museum and archive curator in charge of external affairs.

The house was founded by Marie - Etienne Nitot in 1780, and is no stranger to comparison with other bigger houses. "The best time for Chaumet was at its beginning, during the golden age of French pageant high jewelry. We were born at the top together with the First Empire in the early 19th century at the coronation of Napoleon and Josephine," De Plinval says.

De Plinval started at Chaumet in 1968 and headed the design room for 15 years. She made an interesting discovery in the old albums which still keep her enchanted to this day. She carefully turns the pages of a large, leather-bound album and laughs. "Cartier has its orchids, Piaget identifies with roses, Chanel with the camellias, but here we have everything -daisies, roses, pansies, holly, ferns, even mistletoe. The quality of these drawings is very inspiring even until today when you can do a different interpretation."