【Milan, Italy】Chanel’s New Home: Jewelry Debuts in Milan’s Fashion Quadrilateral

What makes the opening of Chanel’s new boutique on Via Montenapoleone significant is not just its 520 square meters spread over three floors, or that it features both a main entrance and a “private” entrance on Via Verri for the most discreet VICs (Very Important Clients). Nor is it that this boutique joins the brand’s first store on Via Sant’Andrea, just a few steps away, frequented by long-time clients (despite those who predict a global luxury crisis).
Its true uniqueness becomes apparent upon entry: past the entrance, visitors find themselves in three rooms dedicated to jewelry and watches, where even high jewelry and high watchmaking pieces are available for purchase—essentially, haute couture made of gold, machinery, and precious stones. It is the only boutique of its kind in Italy.

“Milan is one of the most important shopping tourism destinations in the world. It was therefore essential to occupy the right position within the local luxury ecosystem,” explains Frédéric Grangié, President of Chanel’s Watch and Jewelry division, regarding this new opening. He then sketches a profile of the Milanese brand client. “Milan is the sum of the country’s tastes, and you Italians are sophisticated—you pay attention to savoir-faire, a quality that is an integral part of your concept of style—as much as to creativity. You love to play with fashion, and you often do so through jewelry. You know exactly what you want, which is to wear something unique. So you focus on exclusivity and novelty.”

Exclusivity and novelty are today the keys to standing out in the market, which is why more and more fashion brands are testing the waters of high jewelry. “But Chanel was the first fashion house to embrace this world, back in 1932, well before others thought of it. Credit goes to Gabrielle Chanel’s vision, whose mantra was: ‘You were born original, don’t die a copy.'” Coco’s genius aside, there is something else that distinguishes the maison’s precious pieces from the rest of the market. “Chanel is an independent company, owned by a single family (the brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, ed.), and it will remain so. When we work on high jewelry and high watchmaking, we do so thinking about their value thirty years from now; we certainly don’t base it on what our competitors are doing, let alone on revenue,” Grangié continues. “Results obtained in a quarter are not relevant to us. Beyond the sale, the purpose of these unique pieces is to create an emotional connection with the public: for example, jewelry creative director Patrice Leguéreau designed an entire collection reproducing Chanel’s famous tweeds. A legitimate and sensible choice precisely because of who we are and what we represent.”
At the same time, compared to iconic names in the sector that have two centuries of history behind them, Chanel is still “young.” “We don’t have the pressure of such a vast tradition as others do, which allows us maximum freedom to experiment. At the same time, however, we are guided by Mademoiselle’s vocabulary and spirit, visible in every creation.”

The optimal—and objectively breathtaking—embodiment of this combination of creative freedom and brand DNA is the 55.55 necklace, currently on display on the boutique’s top floor. It is part of the collection created in 2021 for the 100th anniversary of N°5, the brand’s legendary perfume. It reproduces the shape of the bottle and features a flawless 55.55-carat diamond at its center, cut to this size precisely in honor of the fragrance’s number. It is practically unheard of for a stone of such dimensions to be adapted to a jewelry design; usually, the opposite happens. And it is not even for sale. “It is an excellent testament to Chanel’s perfectionism, both in terms of conception and technique. Its place is in our heritage collection, kept in Paris at 18 Place Vendôme, where our jewelry is born.”