The Number

To mark 100 years of N°5, high jewelry and fragrance meet for the first time—2 stars of the CHANEL universe conjoined under the elusive number. When I began this collection, I started with the graphic number 5, says Patrice Leguéreau, Director of the Fine Jewelry Creation Studio. Rather than draw with pencil in my sketchbook, I worked with a large brush and paper, and using black paint, I created the number with bold, energetic strokes.

On May 5, 1921, Gabrielle Chanel launched a fragrance she called N°5. Although it was perceived by many as not a name at all, Mademoiselle desired a moniker that need not be translated, yet would have universal meaning. In numerology, the number 5 signifies freedom. In 2021, a 5.21-carat emerald-cut stone fashioned as a shimmering stopper has been notably cut to reference the symbolic date. I didn’t just wish to translate the fragrance, but to write the N°5 story in high jewelry—imbuing the fabled number throughout the collection in form, but also in spirit, says Patrice Leguéreau.

The number 5 is a study in contradictions: a bold, geometric top on a languidly looping base, allowing for playful interpretation. In the hands of high jewelry artisans, the sumptuous fluidity of a couture ribbon forms the iconic symbol, made malleable and weightless with remarkable savoir-faire. In homage, but also for luck, Patrice Leguéreau has imagined the mystical number in 5 high jewelry motifs, with the spirit of nonconformity echoing throughout each one.