Brand Spotlight: Chanel Jewelry

“Costume jewelry isn’t designed to elicit desire, simply bewilderment at most,” she famously stated. It must remain a decoration and a source of amusement.” Her creations emphasized the role of the ‘costume’ in costume jewelry: Bijouxwere used to complete an ensemble. For example, her cuff bracelets were designed to replace a shirt’s cuff, while a jeweled belt adorned the waist and a strategically placed brooch might change the way a dress fell.

Coco, in particular, took a hands-on approach to designing her jewels when crafting specific jewelry to go with her couture gowns. The process entailed arranging stones like puzzle pieces and creating clay models to support them, resulting in larger-than-life embellishments for her elegant and fitted outfits. Her jewelry was inspired by antiquity, the Egyptian era, the Byzantine, Medieval, and Renaissance eras, and used bright colored gemstones and paste, as well as complicated chains and settings. While her designs were stunning, cabochon gemstones and “lesser” colored stones were not considered “real” jewelry at the time, making them ideal for her concepts.

Chanel moved in a group that included some of history’s most fascinating personalities. To name a few, Paul Iribe, Etienne de Beaumont, Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, and Fulco Verdura. While they all had an effect on her jewelry designs, Verdura’s designs for Chanel reflected a deep understanding of art history and a strong sense of classical design. Probably the most distinctive creation from their cooperation is the broad enamel and gem set Maltese cross motif bracelet. When Verdura relocated to New York in 1934, he eventually became a designer for Paul Flato and, in 1937, opened Flato’s Los Angeles office. People who influenced Chanel’s ideas came and went, but one constant in her jewelry line was her utilization of the Gripoix workshop in Paris to produce her costume jewelry.