Flights Of Fancy

The Un Air de Chaumet high jewellery collection soars with evocative expressions of birds in flight.

- Alvin Wong

BE PATIENT, BE watchful and, above all, be still. Wildlife photographers who have spent their lives trying to capture birds in their natural habitats will attest to nurturing these virtues. Clearly, Chaumet’s craftsmen must also be aware of the same demands when creating Un Air de Chaumet, a sublime high jewellery capsule collection that depicts the beauty of birds with “dexterity and daring”.

The company’s fascination with birds harks back to the days of its birth. Chaumet’s founder MarieÉtienne Nitot, and his son, François-Regnault, were known to be captivated by exotic flocks. The interest has been manifested throughout Chaumet’s history, with standout creations such as a transformable stomacher and tiara evoking peacock feathers from 1870, and a stunning winged bandeau paired with hummingbird aigrette created by Joseph Chaumet during the early 1900s, who helmed the company at that time.