The Aphrodite tiara by Chaumet
A High Jewellery masterpiece portraying couture and feminine character is the Maison’s new prized jewel.
Empress Josephine was the ambassador of imperial France who reinvented fashion during her reign. Dressed in gold, pearls and precious stones, the empress adorned herself with tiaras refined with Napoléonic symbols such as laurels, oak leaves and ears of wheat. Fundamentally, they defined her sovereign style as emblems of power and radiant femininity.
As the official jeweller of the trend-setting royal, Chaumet has perpetuated the grace of the tiara for over two centuries, shortly after its founding in 1780. The latest headpiece creation from the Maison’s studios, the Aphrodite, references an early 20th-century gouache study and a nickel-silver tiara prototype from several decades ago. Its fluid and airy form is expressed with lines of diamonds interwoven like a delicate lace band — an ode to movement that flawlessly balances tradition and modernity.
Drawing inspiration from the archives with a contemporary interpretation, the alluring Aphrodite flaunts a new design facet of Chaumet’s priceless tiara heritage with its romantic and regal roots. To delve more into tiaras, bandeaux and aigrettes, Chaumet Tiaras: Divine Jewels is an excellent coffee-table tome published by Thames & Hudson that not only serves to enrich Chaumet’s library but our appreciation of the myriad ways the Maison crowns women with a dazzling jewel that transcends time.
Exemplifying Chaumet’s unique virtuosity, the art of the tiara is crafted at the very heart of the Maison at 12 Place Vendôme, the epicentre of Parisian style and savoir-faire. This legendary address, home to the Maison’s High Jewellery workshop, boutique and historic grand salons today, was first established by Joseph Chaumet in 1907.
