IN LOVE WITH THE BEE

Chaumet continues its Bee My Love collection with more opulent, statement pieces that recount the unique story of the Maison and its intimate connections to French royalty.

- Katherine Arteche

From folklore to mythology, the bee has many symbolisms, such as focus, cooperation and hard work. For the House of Chaumet, the bee is a symbol of vitality. Its representation comes in the form of its signature honeycomb and bee designs, both of which have dictated the Chaumet's Bee My Love collections. However, the maison's use of the winged insect is anything but figurative. "Bee My Love may be an abstraction of the motif of the beehive and the bee, but it is nonetheless narrative and very symbolic, as we like to do at Chaumet," explained CEO Jean-Marc Mansvelt. "Wearing a Chaumet creation has meaning; it's not just a beautiful, well-made object that's comfortable to wear, it's also a meaningful object."

At a grand age of over 240 years, Chaumet has had a storied history. In 1804, Chaumet became the official jeweller for the notable Napoléon Bonaparte and his wife, the Empress Joséphine. Among the crown jewels, which included Napoléon's Coronation Sword set with a 140.5-carat diamond, the bee was chosen as the imperial emblem for the new French royal family. While Napoléon's taste for jewellery was predominantly political, with goals of making France the centre for luxury and fashion design, his wife sought them as trinkets for expression. Up until the mid-1800s, the Romanticism movement was at the forefront, and Chaumet's designs were heavily inspired by nature, a muse that the Empress Joséphine was fond of.