Paris · founded 1780 by Marie-Etienne Nitot
Vintage Chaumet
Chaumet traces its origins to 1780 in Paris, when Marie-Etienne Nitot established the workshop that became jeweler to Napoleon. The house is best known for tiaras and for a light, architectural approach to setting, and its vintage pieces are identified by the signature together with French assay and maker's marks rather than by style alone.
The house
Nitot's workshop supplied the imperial court, which is why Chaumet's name is bound up with the tiara and with ceremonial jewelry. The house has kept tiara making as a continuous discipline longer than almost any other jeweler.
Chaumet has occupied 12 Place Vendome since the nineteenth century. Its twentieth century work moves through Art Deco geometry and into the lighter, more graphic gold jewelry of the 1960s and 1970s.
Modern collections such as Bee My Love and Josephine are widely produced, so a design name alone dates nothing. The marks and construction of the individual piece do.
How to recognize the work
- Light, architectural mounts that keep metal out of the way of the stones
- Tiara and aigrette construction with fittings designed to be dismantled or worn several ways
- French period platinum work with fine millegrain and pierced galleries
- Graphic, wearable gold designs from the later twentieth century
What the marks mean
- A signature reading Chaumet, frequently with Paris
- A reference or serial number on many twentieth century pieces
- French assay marks, including the eagle's head historically used for 18K gold
- A maker's mark in a lozenge shaped punch identifying the workshop
Buy carefully
Historic tiaras and convertible pieces are often altered, with fittings replaced or elements removed. We describe what is original as far as examination can establish it and note any later work we can see.
Common questions
Was Chaumet really Napoleon's jeweler?
The workshop founded by Marie-Etienne Nitot supplied the imperial court, and that connection is the historical basis for the house's association with tiaras and ceremonial jewelry.
Can a tiara be worn another way?
Many period tiaras were built to be dismantled into a necklace or brooches. Whether a particular one still has its original fittings is a question of examining the piece, and we say what we find.
Are you an authorized dealer?
No. We are an independent estate jeweler and we are not affiliated with or endorsed by the house. We buy signed pieces from European estates, examine and photograph the signature, numbers and metal marks, and describe exactly what we can and cannot establish.
Shop the pieces
Signed Chaumet in stock
Estate pieces signed Chaumet, photographed mark and all. Each one is a single example.
Nothing matching this is available right now. Every piece is a single example and sells once, so this changes weekly. Browse everything in stock or ask our buyers to look for it.