Coco Chanel first introduced costume jewellery to her collection in 1924. A French fashion designer she is more renowned for her trend-setting fashion designs and perfumes. Her ethos for her designs is to keep everything simple and practical and this ethos works across all her different collections. Coco Chanel costume jewellery like her fashion designs has lived on over the decades and many pieces are as popular today as they were fifty years ago.

In 1960 Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel met Robert Goossens and this was to ultimately change the face of the Chanel jewellery collection. Robert Goossens was a master jewellery maker who had during his career mastered the many different techniques for creating unique and stunning jewellery. Chanel nurtured the talent and skill of Robert Goossens and together they began to create some of Chanel’s most fantastic
and over stated pieces. Goossens became the gold and silversmith for the House of Chanel and an inspiration for the pieces it created.

Together Coco Chanel and Robert Goossens created silver and gold plated pins set with gemstones, the favourite being emeralds, pendants and the most beautiful crystal crosses. Robert Goossens no longer designs for the House of Chanel but his legacy has lived on and many replicas of his work can be seen today. This is especially true of Byzantine type crosses which, is an extremely popular item of jewellery today. Not many women who are wearing this type of jewellery may realise its true origins! Robert Goossens most treasured possessions can still be seen today in his boutique in Paris and of course among these are the legacies that Coco Chanel and himself left to the world.

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