Chanel has appointed Marie Laure Cérède as Director of its Jewelry Creation Studio. She will join the house in October 2026 and take responsibility for all Precious Jewelry and High Jewelry creations.
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Cérède will work closely with Chanel’s teams in Paris and Geneva. She will report directly to Frédéric Grangié, President of Watches and Fine Jewelry. Her appointment places her in charge of the creative direction for two major areas of Chanel’s jewelry division.
Cérède described the appointment as an emotional and significant step in her career. She praised Chanel for its cultural influence, disciplined creative approach and continued willingness to question convention. She also pointed to the house’s role in redefining femininity and expressing modernity through design. She looks forward to meeting the Paris and Geneva teams and developing the next phase of Chanel jewelry with them.
Grangié welcomed Cérède and described her creative process as a careful balance of emotion, audacity and restraint. He believes her perspective will offer a fresh interpretation of the Chanel codes that guide the house’s jewelry creations. He also cited her imagination, technical knowledge and gemological expertise as important strengths for the role. According to Grangié, these qualities will support new creative directions across Chanel’s Precious Jewelry and High Jewelry collections.
Alain Wertheimer, Chanel’s Global Executive Chairman, and Leena Nair, the house’s Global CEO, also expressed their support for the appointment. They described Cérède as one of the most accomplished and refined creative directors of her generation.
Wertheimer and Nair pointed to her vision, inventive thinking and ability to lead creative studios. They expect those qualities to shape the next phase of Chanel’s jewelry story and guide the teams responsible for developing future collections.
Cérède brings extensive experience in jewelry and watch design to Chanel. She began her career at Cartier, where she developed her understanding of jewelry design and the creative processes behind major luxury collections. She later joined Harry Winston and assumed responsibility for the artistic direction of jewelry and watchmaking.
In 2016, Cérède returned to Cartier as Creative Director of Jewelry and Watchmaking. She held the role for almost ten years, overseeing creative work across both divisions before accepting her new position at Chanel.
Her personal background also influenced her visual perspective. Cérède grew up in Libreville, Gabon, where she developed an early sensitivity to nature, color and different cultures. Cérède graduated from ESCP Europe. Her education, gemological knowledge and years of experience leading jewelry and watchmaking studios now prepare her for one of the most prominent creative roles within Chanel.
