Since the founding of the Maison Chaumet in Paris in 1780, each generation of its jewellers has looked to the natural world for inspiration, dreaming up ruby-encrusted grapevines, delicate laurel-wreath tiaras, striking diamond starbursts and a beguiling array of jewelled animals from birds and butterflies to snakes, lions and even bats that embodied the spirit of the age.

As tools for researching and developing ideas, drawings are an essential first step in the creation of jewellery pieces and reveal little-known aspects of the design process. These beautiful and inventive drawings from the Chaumet archives, many published here for the first time, are presented in thematic chapters (Flowers, Trees and Plants, Bestiary, Universe), while essays by curator Galle Rio offer a concise art-historical perspective.

A visually fascinating compendium, this unique book will delight all lovers of jewelry, art and nature.