Chaumet Envol: A New Capsule High Jewellery Collection Takes Flight

At the centre of Envol, the new High Jewellery collection unveiled by Chaumet during Haute Couture Week in Paris, is an aigrette conceived with multiple configurations in mind. First and foremost a tiara that can be worn in two different ways, it transforms into two brooches or, at its most dramatic, a grand bal-style mask, complete with an enamel and diamond arm. 

One of nine new winged Envol creations, the tiara-turned-mask is not without precedent when considered within Chaumet’s history. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Maison was deeply entrenched in the social lives of Parisian high society, creating tiaras for the balls, court events and formal gatherings of the era. The Envol aigrette nods to this tradition while introducing a note of theatricality to one of the Maison’s most enduring forms.

While its transformation capabilities are impressive, the painterly approach to the tiara’s decoration is equally so. Executed in grand feu enamel, a technique traditionally used on watch dials, the wings unfold in myriad shades of blue, moving from pale sky tones to deep lapis blue. They echo an early 20th-century Chaumet wing tiara, acquired in 1910 by the American sculptor and collector Gertrude Payne Whitney, a key inspiration behind Envol. Where the original used translucent enamel, Envol employs the grand feu technique to achieve its delicate dégradé of blues. Layered and fired repeatedly at high temperatures, the effect is almost Impressionistic, with a sense of movement captured in the soft transitions from one shade to the next.

Wings are not new to Chaumet. They appear repeatedly in the Maison’s archives from the early 19th century onwards, sometimes fully formed, sometimes reduced to a suggestion of line or movement. In certain pieces, they frame a central stone; in others, they dissolve into sweeping curves. Their meaning has shifted over time, but their presence has remained consistent as a way of introducing lightness and movement into jewellery design, reflected in archival drawings and photographs spanning the early 1900s to the 1970s.

The concept of transformation reappears in another highlight of the Envol collection: a winged high jewellery pendant, worn on a sapphire-and-pearl sautoir, that swivels open to reveal a sodalite watch face. Designed to be removable, the pendant can be worn, displayed or placed beside the bed, a far superior alternative to a conventional alarm clock.

There is a strong haute couture sensibility to the Envol earrings, presented in two distinct pairs. The first pair feature detachable grand feu enamel and diamond wings, allowing the earrings to shift from diamond studs to long, swooping silhouettes. Worn with both wings, without them or asymmetrically with a single wing, the design allows for three different expressions. The second pair leans further into couture territory. Set with oval Madagascan sapphires weighing 3.84 and 3.55 carats respectively, the earrings can be worn alone or enhanced with a dramatic, winged ear cuff. 

The collection is completed with a necklace, two brooches and a pair of cocktail rings that present more opportunities to play.  One features a diamond-and-enamel outer shell that can be removed to expose two nestling rings beneath, while the other is composed of two removable elements, which can be worn separately or together as a single piece. One half is a solitaire set with a 3.61-carat pear-shaped Madagascan sapphire, framed by a half-halo of diamonds that recalls Chaumet’s iconic Joséphine tiara ring. The other is more sculptural, with grand feu enamel wings that curve across the finger.

Envol’s emphasis on transformation brings fresh energy to High Jewellery, a category that still carries a sense of formality. Designed to shift, adapt and be reconfigured, the jewels invite repeated wear and reimagining, offering a more dynamic way of engaging with Chaumet’s most precious creations.