GENEVE Walking on Sunshine

Charriol CEO and creative director Coralie Charriol-Paul speaks on how she carries CHARRIOL both her father's name and his legacy as she helms the eponymous jewellery brand

- Ryanne Stephanie Cheng Co

In the VIP sitting room at Rustan's Makati, Coralie Charriol-Paul nibbles on a fresh slice of Philippine mango. "Oh, I love these," she comments enthusiastically. In her first trip back to Asia since 2019, the French CEO and creative director of Swiss luxury jewellery and watches manufacturer Charriol expresses her delight in what is a homecoming of sorts.

"I used to live in Hong Kong and come for holidays in the Philippines," she reveals. "The [country] has been a part of my life since I was a little girl." But it's not just the fantastic beaches or the tropical sunshine that CharriolPaul is so fond of it's also the friendship she shares with some of our very own.

Sitting next to her is luxury tastemaker and Rustan Commercial Corporation and Stores Specialists, Inc chairwoman and CEO Zenaida "Nedy" Tantoco. The two women share a bond that has been generations in the making. "Do you know how my mum met your dad?" Tantoco asks Charriol-Paul. "It was while he was still in Cartier." Philippe Charriol, who founded his eponymous jewellery brand, had worked as the executive director of Cartier Asia before founding his own company in the Eighties. After his passing in 2019, his daughter, Coralie, took over the reins.