Boucheron CEO Helene Poulit-Duquesne is determined to shake up the jewellery industry

A culture of innovation

Credit: Boucheron CEO Helene Poulit-Duquesne. (Photo: Boucheron)

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A jewellery veteran who was formerly at Cartier for 17 years, Poulit-Duquesne has fostered a distinct culture of innovation at Boucheron since taking the helm in 2015. One of the most notable moves she has made in this direction is introducing Carte Blanche, one of Boucheron’s two annual high-jewellery collections. Presented in July, Carte Blanche gives Choisne — as the collection’s name suggests — total creative freedom. Showcased in January, the brand’s other annual collection, Histoire de Style, is heritage-focused.

Indeed, the materials used in Carte Blanche collections are a world away from those typically found in high jewellery: A necklace in the Contemplation range from 2020 features a centre “stone” containing aerogel, a material that is 99.8 per cent air and 0.2 per cent silica. For the 2022 Ailleurs range, everyday materials like rattan and large hollowed pebbles were used to craft statement necklaces.

“More is More”, the latest Carte Blanche collection and a colourful range inspired by the 80s, includes a graphic, outsized bow-like hair ornament that called for the use of an ultra-light material. It had to be even lighter than titanium, another high-tech material that Boucheron has used in distinctive pieces such as a diamond necklace resembling a cloud of water droplets, which was designed with the help of a computer algorithm.
We believe that it’s our mission to push the boundaries and shake up the market.
The answer was magnesium, which enabled the 29cm-long, diamond-set headpiece to weigh just 94g. Poulit-Duquesne explains, “Because of the size of the piece, even titanium was not light enough. Magnesium is used in the medical and automotive industries. But it has never been used in high jewellery, and nobody was familiar with it, so we had to look outside the industry to find a supplier that was familiar with this material.”

Leading the industry forward

Credit: Bejewelled hoodie strings from the Carte Blanche “More is More” collection. (Photo: Boucheron)

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Such envelope-pushing creations are certainly one way in which Boucheron — a Parisian maison established by Frederic Boucheron in 1858 — stands out in the red-hot high- and fine-jewellery segment, which has been seeing new players in luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and Gucci. But that’s not the only reason Poulit-Duquesne is taking a forward-looking approach.

She shares, “It does give us a big point of differentiation, but the most important thing is that Claire and I believe that it’s our mission to shake up the market and push the boundaries. Because it’s a market that’s a little old-fashioned and very classical.”

Material innovation aside, Boucheron has also led the way for change in the industry in other ways. Sustainability is a key focus for the house, which uses only ethical gold and has been working with Israeli company Sarine Technologies on a digital certificate that will accompany all its diamonds by 2025.

And then, there is its groundbreaking approach to gender: In the campaign for its Histoire de Style “Art Deco” collection in 2020, the brand put pieces such as a signet ring and a brooch on a male model, making it the first jewellery house to showcase haute joaillerie on men.

Poulit-Duquesne points out that it was not so much a social — or marketing — statement as one that simply made sense in our times. “Claire just felt that putting those pieces on a man made for a stronger aesthetic. So I told her, go ahead,” she says. “We don’t differentiate between men and women. We discussed that and said, ‘We’re above gender.’ It’s not about having something specific for men. At Boucheron, everybody should be able to find something that expresses their style and personality.”


This article was originally published in The Peak.