Watches World - Men's and women's Chaumet watches.
Legend has it that the turning point in the fate of Master Nito and his business was an ordinary day in 1802, when Marie-Etienne stopped a horse carrying his confused rider. That horseman turned out to be the French consul, who later became one of the most famous and odious world rulers – Napoleon Bonaparte. Later, when Napoleon became emperor, he invited the man who saved his life to the post of court jeweler, and Master Nito got access to such clients as he could only dream of. He was honored to create jewelry for Empress Marie-Louise and Josephine, as well as other royalty.
Over time, Chaumet ventured into making wristwatches for men , emphasizing masculine features.
Mr. Nito's successor was Jean-Baptiste Fossin, a jeweler of exceptional talent who worked together with his son, Jules. These masters chose naturalism for themselves, because in all their creations they tried to achieve maximum similarity with real objects – flowers, fruits, etc.
The next to take over the Fossen business were Jean Valentin Morel and his son Prosper, who achieved tremendous success: after the revolution of 1848, they opened a branch of the company in London and received the honorary status of court jewelers of Queen Victoria. Thanks to Morel, the jewelry house's products made a splash at the 1851 World's Fair.
Where did the current brand name come from? The fact is that Joseph Chaumet married the daughter of Prosper Morel, who became the head of the House, and in 1895 gave it a new name – Chaumet. Chaumet House decorations have gained popularity not only in France and the UK. Even representatives of the Russian nobility indulged themselves with the delightful jewels of French jewelers. Among the fans of the House were the Golitsyns, the Obolenskys, the Orlovs, Prince Yusupov, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna and many others…
However, the name Chaumet was glorified not only thanks to exquisite jewelry, a considerable share of its products has always been occupied by unique watch tools. The first watches were issued by the House in 1811. In order to emphasize its watch heritage, this year the Chaumet House organized the exhibition "Chaumet: 200 years of watchmaking", where special watches from the new anniversary collection were presented, reflecting the ideals of the jewelry house, both in watchmaking and jewelry art.
The exhibition featured more than 20 rare watches created for famous historical figures and royalty, including a pair of bracelet watches made by Francois Nito himself in 1811 for Princess Auguste de Beauvier, wife of the Viceroy of Italy. Both "bracelets" looked the same and were worn together: one showed the time, the other the date and month. The bracelets are made of yellow gold, and the thin oval dials are framed with pearls and emeralds.
In addition, visitors to the exhibition could see gift watches for Napoleon with his monogram, pearls and enamel, and Empress Marie-Louise of Austria, made in 1813 of the "imperial" period of the Chaumet House; Chatelaine waist watches, made in 1850 of the "romantic" period; wristwatches of 1908, made by Joseph Chaumet using platinum, gold, diamonds, natural pearls and blue enamel. The 1910 Chatelaine watch with platinum, diamonds, emeralds and enamel, commissioned by the Duke de Luynes, also attracted great attention; a 1915 blue enamel wristwatch with platinum, white gold, diamonds and enamel, as well as Arabic numerals on the dial, characterizing the period of the "belle epoque"; a 1924 Regence pendant watch with platinum, emeralds, pink diamonds, refined crystal and enamel, and a 1925 wristwatch with platinum, diamonds and the JaegerLeCoultre mechanism of the "art Deco" period.
The filigree work of jewelers and the unique precise mechanisms created in the workshops of the Chaumet House to this day remain examples of the highest talent and unique vision of the beautiful, characteristic of this brand for more than two hundred years.
