Parisian jewellery house Chaumet has long championed a rich spirit of collaboration, working with an eclectic portfolio of photographers on avant-garde and arresting campaigns throughout its history. Now, for the first time, they are united in a retrospective book, Chaumet: Photographers’ Gaze which delves into the archives, featuring editorials and campaigns shot by talents including Guy Bourdin, Peter Lindberg, Mario Testino, Mario Sorrenti, Richard Burbridge, and Paolo Roversi.
Here, one of the book's three authors, Carol Woolton, discusses how photography has been integral to the high jewellery house since its inception, and how enjoyable it is to view jewellery photographed in an array of cultural contexts.
A delve into ‘Chaumet: Photographers’ Gaze’
Wallpaper*: Chaumet's rich history encompasses both jewellery and cultural references. Can you tell us a bit about how this book builds on this in celebrating the maison's artistic collaborations?
Carol Woolton: This book illustrates more than jewellery as a design vehicle for gemstones or signifiers of glamour. Through the rich legacy of photographic imagery – which really began with Joseph Chaumet himself and progressed with technological advancement and shifting fashion tastes combined with inventive artistic collaborations – it’s possible to detect the story of dress over a particular period and the changing representation of women. The style of each era, definition of beauty and how jewellery was being perceived by society at certain moments are visible through the 200 or so photographs in the book.
W*: What did you enjoy most when going through the archives? Did any imagery you came across surprise you?
CW: I’d describe the Chaumet archive as addictive. I’d spot what I imagined to be the most spectacular drawing or gouache of a jewel in the collection that would be a dream to have seen realised, let alone worn, before turning over another page and finding myself equally enchanted. The array of styles and breadth of the archive is astonishing. The beauty of the aigrettes [headdresses] surprised me and quite how many of them were commissioned at the time – one drawing stays with me in particular, which is painted with an airy lightness of touch depicting a diamond design rising up from a slender white gold headband into a fresh spray of holly with berries popping from the page with a dashing dab of red and silvery dusting of dew. Invariably for me, it’s Chaumet’s flowers that bewitch.
‘I’d describe the Chaumet archive as addictive’
Co-author Carol Woolton
W*: What have you found most interesting in the way a diverse group of photographers have differed when interpreting Chaumet's aesthetic?
CW: I like the diverse aesthetics offered by a range of some of the greatest names in fashion photography, in some cases not best known for picturing jewellery, and how they’ve chosen to portray the jewels. Not only do these photographs show jewellery as an adornment for the body, but the diverse wealth of still-life styles also shows jewels as powerful objects, whilst others are seemingly in motion as the jewellery moves through a parade of backdrops, sometimes thought-provoking, often witty and always compelling. But invariably the jewel commands the image with its extraordinary desirability contributing a crucial element to the overall picture.
‘David Bailey’s 1970 glam rock silver-eyed model wearing a large geometric white gold jewel is a masterclass in portraying the spirit of a decade’
Carol Woolton
W*: What is some of your favourite imagery in the book?
CW: Every picture tells a story – as does a piece of jewellery, so my favourite images are the ones that leave a little to the viewer's imagination to decide what is happening in the picture. For instance, the 2006 image by Bettina Rheims of the mascara-stained face of a weeping girl with magazines lying beside her in bed wearing a tiara conjures up a complicated backstory in a single moment. I also love the mastery of Guy Bourdin’s magnificent black-clad cat burglar caught in the act attempting a daring get-away with the emerald and diamond jewelled bounty in hand. Others, like David Bailey’s 1970 glam rock silver-eyed model wearing a large geometric white gold jewel, are masterclasses in portraying the spirit of a decade.
Chaumet's new book, 'Chaumet: Photographers’ Gaze' is available at amazon.co.uk
