There are appointments that feel administrative, and then there are appointments that suggest a shift in atmosphere. Chanel’s announcement that Marie-Laure Cérède will become Director of its Jewelry Creation Studio feels like the latter. Arriving in October 2026, Cérède will lead the House’s Precious Jewelry and High Jewelry creations, working closely with teams in Paris and Geneva.
For Chanel, jewellery has never been purely decorative. It is a language of line, discipline, light, movement, and attitude. From Gabrielle Chanel’s own instinct for freedom to the House’s contemporary jewellery codes, the category has always balanced elegance with a certain refusal to behave exactly as expected. Cérède now steps into that world with a career defined by craft, culture, and an acute understanding of how heritage can be carried forward without becoming static.
In her new role, Cérède will report to Frédéric Grangié, President of Chanel Watches & Fine Jewelry. Her appointment places her at the centre of one of the House’s most expressive creative territories, where precious materials become more than symbols of luxury. They become gestures, silhouettes, memories, and moods.
“I am honoured and moved to join Chanel, a Maison of singular cultural force and exceptional discipline that continues to question convention, redefine femininity, and express modernity through form and spirit,” said Cérède. “I am looking forward to meeting the teams and writing the new chapter together.”
It is a statement that captures the tension Chanel has always understood so well: discipline and freedom, form and feeling, modernity and memory.
Grangié described Cérède’s creative approach as “a delicate balance between heritage, emotion, audacity and restraint,” adding that her perspective will bring new energy to the Chanel codes that define the House’s creations. He also pointed to her imagination, gemological knowledge, and deep expertise in craft as qualities that will help take Chanel in “exciting new directions.”
That balance feels central. In high jewellery, excess is easy. The harder thing is control. Cérède’s work has long suggested an appreciation for detail, proportion, and the emotional charge of materials, rather than spectacle for spectacle’s sake.
Cérède began her career at Cartier before joining Harry Winston, where she led the Artistic Direction of Jewellery and Watchmaking. In 2016, she returned to Cartier as Creative Director of Jewellery and Watchmaking, a role she held for almost a decade.
Raised in Libreville, Gabon, she developed from childhood a sensitivity to nature, colour, and cultures of the world. That early exposure helped shape a lifelong admiration for decorative arts and craft, influences that now enter the Chanel story at a particularly intriguing moment.
Alain Wertheimer, Global Executive Chairman, and Leena Nair, Global CEO of Chanel, called Cérède “one of the most talented, refined, and accomplished Creative Directors of her generation,” adding that her vision and creative ingenuity will shape the next chapter of Chanel’s jewellery story.
For a House built on codes, Cérède’s arrival is less about rewriting the language than changing the rhythm. The Chanel universe remains unmistakable. Now, it gains a new hand, a new eye, and perhaps, a new kind of light.
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