Inside the workshop: the Chanel high jewellery collection that was two years in the making

Whether the camellia flower or the number five, there are many of Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel's original themes and motifs still threaded through every modern-day Chanel collection - from Karl Lagerfeld's final show, down to the latest developments in skincare One such recurring inspiration for her was the Chinese Cormandel screen, which forms the basis of the latest Chanel Fine Jewelry collection "Gabrielle Chanel first discovered Coromandel screens in the 1910s with her great love Boy Capel and they became a huge part of her life," explained Marianne Etchebarne, global head of Watches and Fine Jewellery marketing, media and clients at Chanel.

Still, today, the screens can be found inside Chanel's former apartment at 31 Rue Cambon Considering their significance to the house and its founder, it comes as little surprise to find that the High Jewellery Studio of Creation team found a wealth of inspiration from the screens for this new collection; a collection that was two years in the making "The Coromandel screens were so precious to Gabrielle Chanel and so rich with inspiration," Etchebarne told us, explaining that the team "Aimed to explore this in order to highlight key elements and symbols she chose to surround herself with, thus opening the doors to her very private world".

A high jewellery collection of this calibre typically requires around 24 months from its initial design to the creation of the finished product; for the Coromandel range, 14 unique pieces were developed by the Chanel workshop, with some of them taking up to 400 hours to complete. . Source