Camille*, a jeweler, brings her tray with a smile on her face. Like a puzzle under construction, the Tweed Couture necklace rests in a thousand pieces. The young woman has been working in Chanel's jewelry workshop, located under the eaves of 18 place Vendôme above the boutique, for eight years. Here there are about fifteen craftsmen, with a breathtaking view of the column, working on the most important ornaments of the high jewelry collections of the house. They also work, once or twice a year, to reproduce masterpieces intended to join the archives. This process is unprecedented around the Place Vendôme where historic jewelers enrich their heritage with pieces dating back several decades often bought at auction. "Remanufacturing to deposit into the archives is, indeed, a singular story, and is very linked to who we are as well as to the place of high jewelry at Chanel, explains its president Frédéric Grangié. The creation with us must each time feed the brand, be consistent with the other activities of this one, while projecting itself into the future. The Tweed Couture necklace released in 2020 was exemplary in this respect: it was perfectly in line with the icons of the House of Chanel, but introduced a new jewelry language thanks to an incredible know-how reproducing the flexibility of the fabric. We quickly felt that he was going to mark our history. This piece at more than $ 4 million sold very quickly, in the middle of confinement, after a Zoom meeting that I led with our artistic director who had designed it, Patrice Léguereau. The American client who acquired it quickly understood its historical dimension. When we asked her for permission two years later to reproduce it for our archives, she was very flattered.
»In 1956, model in the Chanel suite of the Ritz wearing a tweed suit designed by Coco. GRANGER - Historical Picture Arc
"Benefiting from past experience"
At the workshop, for several months, the jewelers have put this prodigious work back on the job. Two of them re-elaborate this precious weave of gold threads paved with brilliants, rods of pink sapphires, rubies and chains, forming a breastplate buttoned by a diamond of more than ten carats (D Flawless, the top of the best in terms of brilliance and purity). "I regularly consult the people who had worked on the original Tweed Couture necklace, presented in 2020, to benefit from their experience," says the jeweler in front of the thousands of already manufactured elements that she will soon assemble. I also conducted a real investigation work from the manufacturing photos to understand its construction and swaddling.
»Tweed Couture necklace: a unique piece from the 2020 high jewelry collection, acquired by an American client. SDP
Great rigor is required to respect the place of each element. SDP
The thousands of elements are polished to shine, before being entrusted to the setters. SDP
A good workout
If he will sleep most of the time in a heritage chest (in the basement of the shop on Place Vendôme), the necklace is reproduced exactly identical to the first, with the same materials and the same quality of stones. "Even we, artisans, cannot believe that the level of requirement is a second time so high," admits Camille, who can not hide her pride in shaping a piece that will remain for life in the archives of Chanel and who will surely one day participate in exhibitions in museums. "It is inconceivable to lower the quality, insists Frédéric Grangié. In decades, these pieces will probably be appraised and no one would understand if a diamond with a poor certificate was set on them. But we can do this because our workshop, Place Vendôme, has gained a lot in power in recent years to reach a very high level of expertise. I would never have asked for this reproduction from a subcontractor.
»Jeanne Moreau and Coco Chanel, in tweed suit, rue Cambon, Paris, in 1960. GAMMA-RAPHO
On the workbenches, production is organized. Priority is obviously always given to future collections. The production of documents intended for the archives responds to a particular temporality. They must be interspersed with the rest. "I'll get back to it next week," says Camille, who had to give up the Tweed Couture necklace for two months. This split work increases the difficulty. And requires a rigorous organization so as not to get lost in the steps and not to mix the thousands of elements. She places Post-it notes on her trays to remember the next operation. The original opus of 2020 had totaled one thousand seven hundred hours of work! "There, we will exceed, already predicts the workshop manager. But that's okay. " This type of work is not subject to the same performance requirements. It also allows promising young craftsmen to get their hands on exceptional pieces. However, one requirement has been made: that the part be delivered in 2024. We could add: that it is as beautiful as the first. It's off to a great start!
Like the Tweed, the elements of the necklace are "woven" to each other. Edouard Brane / SDP
* First name has been changed.