WATCHES & STYLE

Chaumet’s Envol Collection Reimagines Its 19th-Century Heritage

by Portfolio Magazine
03 Mar 2026

The Envol High Jewellery collection by Chaumet revisits its 19th-century wing motif, blending heritage, colour, and exceptional savoir-faire in bold, modern creations.

For nearly 250 years, Chaumet has returned, time and again, to nature. Wings, in particular, have long held a special place within the Maison’s archives. They are viewed as symbols of grace, but also of authority, movement, and self-possession.

With Envol, the brand’s latest High Jewellery collection, the enduring motif takes flight once more.

To understand Envol is to look back to the early 19th century, when founder Marie-Étienne Nitot was appointed jeweller to Napoléon I. In an era where the eagle became an imperial emblem, wings evolved into visual expressions of power and prestige. In turn, Chaumet translated this symbol into jewels that balanced strength with elegance, often centring delicate, unfurling wings around luminous stones.

By the 1870s and into the Belle Époque, the motif reached new heights of refinement, appearing in tiaras and ornaments that felt natural yet otherworldly. These historical designs now form the foundation of Envol, a collection that reinterprets history with clarity and intent.

Here, winged creations unfold in a signature blue shade, rendered through grand feu enamel and punctuated by vivid Madagascar sapphires. Colour here is not merely decorative, but atmospheric, shifting with light, depth, and movement – a reminder that Chaumet’s mastery lies not only in gemstones, but in how they are made to live.

Yet what defines Envol is not just visual language, but versatility. Across the collection, pieces transform and adapt, reflecting a contemporary sensibility that values fluidity. A tiara, shaped through more than 800 hours of craftsmanship, can be worn in multiple ways. At once regal and restrained, it can also be reimagined entirely, framing the face with a sense of theatre, or separated into individual brooches.

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Elsewhere, a necklace dissolves into its purest line, allowing its central sapphire to be removed or repositioned. Rings open to reveal hidden compositions beneath sculptural forms. Earrings shift from subtle to statement. Even time itself becomes part of this dialogue, with a jewellery watch that conceals its dial behind folding enamelled wings.

Throughout the collection, there is a sense of quiet ingenuity. Each piece invites interaction, encouraging the wearer to participate in its final form. It is a continuation of a long-standing Chaumet tradition, where jewellery is not static, but lived with and made one’s own.

For all its adaptability, Envol remains deeply rooted in heritage. The wing motif, reinterpreted across generations, continues to carry layered meanings: Freedom, elevation, as well as a sense of rising and becoming.


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