Coco chanel No, 5 is 100 years old! Created in 1921 by Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel and French perfumer Ernest Beaux, the scent has reached cultural phenomenon status, working its way into movies, TV, pop art and museums, while being worn by Hollywood’s biggest stars, from Marilyn Monroe to Chanel No. 5 ambassador Marion Cotillard.
To celebrate the fragrance’s 100th anniversary, the French fashion house is exploring its storied history in a new episode of Inside Chanel. The series documents the rich history and cultural references behind one of the world’s most iconic brands.
In this episode, viewers are expected to see Chanel No. 5 , including the story of its inception, the inspiration behind its silhouette and design, the special meaning behind number five, its significant role in World War II, and its lasting impression on popular culture and modern perfumery.
“From the start, No. 5 threw habits and conventions to the wind,” Chanel said in a press release. “At the beginning of the 1920s, Gabrielle Chanel had already changed people’s views on fashion by suggesting a new allure. Her first perfume is consistent with her pioneering designs, simple yet well thought through. Revolutionary in its composition, No. 5 is also the first perfume imagined by a woman for women.”
For a century, Chanel No. 5 has existed as a fragrance. It will now also exist in diamonds.
Lauded through the ages by the likes of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe to young actress Lily-Rose Depp, perfume Chanel No. 5 now has 100 years of heritage and fame tucked under its delicate baudruche seal.
The fragrance, created in 1921 by founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel and perfumer Ernest Beaux, is known for its signature olfactory blend of florals like jasmine and ylang ylang with sensual base notes such as vanilla and sandalwood.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the perfume this year, the House of Chanel has crafted a high jewellery collection and named it Collection No. 5. To be launched in May, the collection boasts 123 pieces – the largest high jewellery collection created by Chanel.
“From the bottle and the sillage to the stopper and the number that make up No. 5, the 123 pieces exude its various facets and express all its identification elements,” says president of Chanel Watches and Fine Jewellery Frederic Grangie (above).
“From the bottle and the sillage to the stopper and the number that make up No. 5, the 123 pieces exude its various facets and express all its identification elements,” says president of Chanel Watches and Fine Jewellery Frederic Grangie (above).
The gemstones used are also said to represent the colours – an assortment of yellow, amber and pink shades – of the perfume. But the crowning glory is the 55.55 necklace, an 18-karat white-gold bezel set with myriad gemstones, the most eye-catching of which is a custom-cut 55.55-carat diamond.
Mr Grangie describes the various design elements of the necklace as symbolic of “the embrace between the spirit of the No. 5 perfume and the most exceptional of jewellery”.
Mr Patrice Leguereau, director of Chanel Fine Jewellery Creation Studio, says: “We started with a rough diamond that we had cut, not to make the biggest stone possible but to achieve a perfect octagonal diamond weighing 55.55 carats.”
Nestled among more than 100 other round and baguette-shaped diamonds, the large emerald-cut gem sits in a pendant emulating the perfume bottle’s rectangular silhouette and faceted cabochon stopper.
The clasp, shaped like the numeral five, pays homage to the origins of the perfume. It is believed that Chanel selected the fifth vial of fragrance sample presented by Beaux and released the perfume on May 5.
The necklace will be kept as part of Chanel’s heritage at the maison’s flagship store in Paris’ Place Vendome – as an ode to the perfume – with the possibility of being exhibited globally in the future
Mr Grangie says: “Chanel’s ambition is always to pay tribute to the talent and visionary audacity of Gabrielle Chanel. The necklace is testimony to this. “It will constitute an eternal and visible symbol of the unfailing links that unite Place Vendome and the No. 5 perfume.”
