Celebrity Life

As Chaumet's CEO Jean-Marc Mansvelt tells us, bringing the house's 240-year heritage into the modern era is an immense task that amounts to a "daily obsession". But if the new pieces in the Chaumet Joséphine collection are anything to go by, the Place Vendôme stalwart is heading in the right direction.

What kind of woman today does the Joséphine collection appeal to?

First, it’s about a woman with a certain character. Because when you choose to wear a tiara on your finger, you’re making a choice of distinction, a choice of character. You’re sending a message to say you’re not like everyone else and you have a certain strength and a certain personality. But also a sense of virtuosity, grace and beauty, because it’s not for women who want to be too provocative.

It’s a way to set your personality. And then of course, there are two major reasons to become a client of Joséphine. On one side, it remains one of the favourite pieces chosen for a bridal purpose. It’s connected to the initial history of Chaumet, the history of the power and love between Napoleon and Joséphine. And Napoleon is known everywhere, that’s incredible. There’s another type of client on the other side of the connection with the pearls, the coloured stones, something a bit easier and more accessible.

This year, Chaumet's creations have also incorporated sleeker, more modern takes on the tiara. Can you tell us a bit about the new high jewellery?

After many creations that were a bit more tiara-like, a bit more decorative, more visible, more baroque in a certain way, we wanted to enrich the collection with new ways to mix and match, and to go for designs that were slicker, with a more minimalist approach, because that’s also the style of today. We have a feeling that clients today are a little more understated, and we have the capacity to create beauty through a fine line, rather than an accumulation. So one of our high- jewellery pieces, which is sort of a V with a stone in suspension, doesn’t shout about its design. It’s all about balance.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the Joséphine collection...

But we don’t mark it that way for two reasons. I always feel that if you start doing anniversaries for everything, then at the end, what’s the meaning in it? Last year, when we did the 240 years of Chaumet, that was slightly different. For Chaumet, our heritage is much longer than a decade, it’s about centuries. Instead, this year, we’re celebrating our connection with the 200th anniversary of the death of Napoleon, which is significant in Europe and in France. We’ve done an exhibition at 12 Place Vendôme that was open to the public which tells the love story of Napoleon and Josephine through 150 different objects, beautiful loans from museums and private owners.

Which piece proved to be the most challenging piece in the collection?

The most discussed and the most debated one was the watch. Because we’re clearly a jeweller, and we’ve focused all our efforts and attention on jewellery. But since a few years ago, we’ve reassessed and repositioned what watches mean for Chaumet. It’s true that with the business of watches within Chaumet, we’ve really tried to be coherent with what the story of watchmaking for Chaumet is as a jeweller. One of our challenges was to look at the market – in the market, 90 percent of watches are round – and nobody’s waiting for Chaumet to create a round watch, because we already have thousands of beautiful options on the market.

We decided on a shaped watch, and it wasn’t very difficult to settle on the pear shape, like an illusion of a diamond. We also faceted the watch’s dial.

How do you balance 240 years of heritage behind a brand and stay relevant at the same time?

That’s really the obsession every single day. How do we continue the narrative, the link to the story? Since the pandemic, we’ve seen clients choose Chaumet because there’s longevity. And so it becomes a daily obsession of ours to convey this message to our clients through different means, including the digital approach, so we can speak to the needs of our audience today. We also go through the traditional channels and have books and exhibitions. I regularly write down on paper in two columns: on one side, how much do we tell the story of Chaumet, and on the other, how do we take a contemporary approach, either through the narrative or through using different tools? I take a step back and ask myself is there a balance? If we’re going too much in one direction, maybe it’s time to rebalance. It’s in everything we do.

The post How to Stay Focused: 7 Tips That Work, According to Experts appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Meditation and wellness expert Gianni Melwani of Ikigai Yoga illuminates the fine art of being still – or, to be more accurate, of simply being.

For meditation, an early morning start is a good idea. I usually wake up around 7am, brush and shower and get ready for my mindful morning meditation.

So as not to have a frantic start to the day, prepare the night before. I clear up the room before I start my meditation. In yoga, it’s important to have a have clean body, mind and environment.

You can meditate for as long as you like, but if you’ve never done this before at home, I suggest starting with 10 minutes.

Assume any comfortable seated position with the spine elongated. Personally, I prefer the lotus position (cross-legged on a cushion) to elevate the hips and take the pressure off my lower back. Take a deep breath.

Then:

• There are many ways to meditate. You can chant a mantra (a sound that you repeat that calms you), as it really helps focus the mind.
• I also practise pranayama (breathing exercises), along with mindfulness techniques; using all five senses.
• If you want to experience complete stillness and emptiness, the trick is... no effort. Just be. It’s hard to explain in words but train your mind to be still, to be calm and to not think of any external stimuli.
• It takes a little daily practice and time, and eventually it comes naturally to you. Meditation is one of the most natural things you can do – you don’t need any equipment or expensive accoutrements.
• The shift from a still mind to meditative state is to flow gently into it. The trick is, essentially, lack of effort. You just segue into it.
• Spend 10 to 15 minutes with yourself, with no distractions. No dogs, no kids, no family, just you.
• I encourage people to try a yoga class and and then apply the technique at home – it’s a lifestyle, not a temporary fix. Real change happens with consistency.
• It’s also important to note that I’m not overly rigid about a set-in-concrete routine. I know that it’s beneficial in my life to practise mediation and yoga every day in some form or another, but if I don’t get time to do this, I realise it’s not the end of the world. I can always start again tomorrow.

You can find out more at Ikigai Yoga

The post No Place Like Om: Wellness Expert Gianni Melwani of Ikigai Yoga Talks Meditation appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Check out these meditation classes to enhance both your physical and mental health amidst your packed schedules.     

The post Mindfulness and meditation sessions in Singapore to improve physical health and quality of life appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

Check out these meditation classes to enhance both your physical and mental health amidst your packed schedules.     

For more stories like this, visit www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg.

Psychologist Maria Micha shares some symptoms of pandemic-related stress, and steps you can take.

The post Getting through Covid-19 psychologically appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

Psychologist Maria Micha shares some symptoms of pandemic-related stress, and steps you can take.

For more stories like this, visit www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg.

The exercices stem from an ancient Tibetan practice called Keksel.

The post The obscure yoga that keeps Aman’s billionaire CEO Vladislav Doronin focused appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

The exercices stem from an ancient Tibetan practice called Keksel.

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Attain nirvana with a leather yoga mat embedded with gemstones.

The post Object of Desire: Chakracarma Yoga Mat appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

Attain nirvana with a leather yoga mat embedded with gemstones.

For more stories like this, visit www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg.

New-age therapy takes new forms with some turning to sound to soothe the soul.

The post Guide to sound healing therapy in Singapore appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

New-age therapy takes new forms with some turning to sound to soothe the soul.

For more stories like this, visit www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg.