With Marie-Laure Cérède, Formerly of Cartier, Chanel is Reinforcing its Ambitions in Fine Jewellery

This new appointment goes beyond the mere acquisition of talent and reflects Chanel’s strategic acceleration in a sector that has become central to the major luxury houses. Coming from Cartier, where she held creative leadership roles for nearly ten years, Marie-Laure Cérède represents a rare career trajectory within high jewellery. Having also worked at Harry Winston before returning to Cartier, she embodies a generation of designers capable of combining rigour with a culture of craftsmanship. Her arrival at Chanel confirms the intensification of talent transfers between historic houses, a phenomenon long considered marginal in jewellery but now indicative of a market where competition is intensifying.

The appointment comes at a crucial moment for Chanel. In 2025, the house returned to growth, with revenue of $19.3 billion, up by around 2% at constant exchange rates. Following the decline in 2024, this rebound confirms the resilience of the company’s business model in a luxury market that remains complex.

Against this backdrop, the group continues to step up its industrial and creative investments, with over $2 billion committed each year to support its development, strengthen its vertical integration and safeguard its expertise.

For the time being, jewellery remains a relatively modest pillar within Chanel’s overall business, but one of significant strategic value. The house does not disclose precise figures for the division, but analysts at Morgan Stanley estimate that the Watches & Fine Jewellery business accounts for around 5% of the group’s turnover, representing nearly $1 billion in annual revenue. Compared to specialist players such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels or Bulgari, Chanel remains a relatively modest player, but its ambitions are considerable. By recruiting a designer from Cartier, Chanel is clearly signalling its ambition: to establish itself among the world’s leading names in fine jewellery.

At Chanel, the position of creative director of jewellery had been vacant since the untimely death of Patrice Leguéreau in November 2024. Thanks to him and his reinterpretation of Chanel’s aesthetic codes in jewellery, the division had gained significant momentum, drawing on decorative elements characteristic of the house and dear to Gabrielle Chanel, such as the sun, stars and tweed motifs.