Whorl flower: the sinuous, sculpted creations of Charlotte Chesnais

Charlotte Chesnais customised her 'Petal' earring and 'Round Trip' ring in graduated gold, silver and gold plate
Preempting a new focus on colour, Charlotte Chesnais customised her 'Petal' earring and 'Round Trip' ring in graduated gold, silver and gold plate for our March 2016 issue
(Image credit: Charlotte Chesnais)

After accessory-design stints at Ungaro, Paco Rabanne and Balenciaga, Charlotte Chesnais’ fashion credentials are undoubted. That she doesn’t allow them to eclipse her fine-art instinct makes hers a standout name in the new wave of fine jewellers.

As if gently twisted out of a never-ending coil of metal, her rings and earrings curve and swoop around the body. Anthony Caro is an inspiration and it shows. Purity of materials is Chesnais' creative starting point and it’s the soft and tubular – as opposed to fine and flat – metal lengths that add a particularly sensuous quality to her silver and gold-plate jewellery.

Her current collection further reveals a sculptor’s instinct: 'I bought a vintage Italian lamp from the 1970s composed of several metallic petals. The shape inspired me a lot and seemed to fit quite naturally with the existing code of my work. It was one of the starting point of the first collection.'

Pre-empting a new focus – colour – the Paris-based jewellery designer customised her 'Petal' earring and 'Saturn' ring in graduated gold and silver for our fashion issue. 'I am working on a small collection using stones and precious metals,' she confirms, 'but that’s all I can tell you for now'. It goes without saying that her signature structural simplicity will remain intact.

As originally featured in the March 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*204)

Looping bracelet Round Trip ring and Gamma ring

As if gently twisted out of a never-ending coil of metal, Chesnais' rings and bracelets curve and swoop around the body. Pictured left: 'Looping' bracelet. Right: 'Round Trip' ring and 'Gamma' ring

(Image credit: Charlotte Chesnais)

Beta bracelet on wrist

A purity of materials – in tubular, rather than flat forms – is Chesnais' creative starting point. Pictured: 'Beta' bracelet

(Image credit: Charlotte Chesnais)

Spinal braclet on wrist

'I am working on a small collection using stones and precious metals,' says the jeweller, 'but that’s all I can tell you for now.' Pictured: ' Spinal' braclet

(Image credit: Charlotte Chesnais)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Charlotte Chesnais’ website

Caragh McKay is a contributing editor at Wallpaper* and was watches & jewellery director at the magazine between 2011 and 2019. Caragh’s current remit is cross-cultural and her recent stories include the curious tale of how Muhammad Ali met his poetic match in Robert Burns and how a Martin Scorsese Martin film revived a forgotten Osage art.