Fashion People Podcast: "Gold Standard"

Host: Lauren Sherman
Guest: Charlotte Cheney (French jeweler/designer)
Date: February 27, 2026

Overview

In this episode, Lauren Sherman interviews celebrated French jeweler and designer Charlotte Cheney. The conversation offers an insider look at building a fine jewelry brand in an era of skyrocketing gold prices, the complexities of running a creative business in France, differentiating a brand aesthetic, the business challenges of fine jewelry, and navigating fashion today. The discussion is honest, nuanced, and filled with personal anecdotes about design, manufacturing, the meaning of jewelry, and the impact of wider industry trends.

Key Discussion Points

Origins & Career Path

• Charlotte’s Background:

  • Started in fashion at Studio Berceau in Paris, then worked for nearly a decade at Balenciaga under Nicolas Ghesquière (05:23).
  • Accidental start in jewelry after being asked by Ghesquière to create pieces for a show, learning craftsman techniques on the job (05:59).

• Aesthetic & Approach:

  • Began her own jewelry line in 2015, initially focused on silver and vermeil due to cost and accessibility (13:11).
  • Strong influence from design and sculpture, emphasizing 3D forms—“I find beauty very early in a spoon or in a teapot… Jewelry can also have this triple aspect of being an object when it’s not worn.” (14:00)

Influences & Fashion Industry Shifts

• Working Under Ghesquière:

  • Culture of reinvention each season; focus on silhouette rather than separate items—“The way we worked…was quite unusual because we didn’t really work on clothes, we worked on silhouettes” (07:50).

• Comparison: Then vs. Now in Fashion:

  • Today’s decentralized fashion landscape lacks the singular influence of early-2000s Balenciaga and Gucci; more brands, social media, less “dictatorial” style movements (10:21, 11:24).

Building a Jewelry Brand

• Launch Story:

  • Originated from a failed Dior job application ("...the premise of a brand is already here," 11:36).
  • Immediate press and buyer interest, boosted by legacy as an ex-Balenciaga designer (23:58).

• Aesthetic Uniqueness:

  • Lauren: “There isn’t a lot of jewelry for women who like sculptural...There’s nothing like it.” (13:11)
  • Charlotte: "It became a business quite quickly without even trying to do a business." (13:11)

The Economics of Jewelry

• Material Cost Increases:

  • Dramatic surge in silver and gold prices:
    • Silver: “Today the price of a kilogram of silver is reaching €3,000...was above €1,000 six months ago.” (17:57)
    • Gold: “…10 years ago you could buy a kilo of gold for €30,000...then €90,000 six months ago...almost €140,000 now.” (19:12, 19:20)
  • Due to demand from other industries (e.g., batteries for electric cars).

• Business Model: Wholesale vs. Consignment:

  • Early years operated wholesale due to cash constraints—"I couldn't afford being on consignment because...for nine months you don't get paid." (21:34)
  • Fine jewelry often requires consignment, raising entry barriers (22:24).

Positioning Against Big Brands

• Status and Aspirations:

  • Charlotte distinguishes her brand from major players like Cartier or Tiffany—“I'm not even thinking about competing with them because we don't even play in the same courtyard.” (26:47)
  • Jewelry as social signifier akin to cars—“It’s a sign of richness, of who you belong to...Are you the blue box at Tiffany, the red box at Cartier?” (27:01)
  • Value in jewelry as investment—“You can remelt it forever...” as opposed to bags, which lose value (28:53, 29:22).

• Independent Challenges:

  • Difficulties accessing factories and ateliers as conglomerates buy them up, and how Charlotte found commitment from an independent supplier who “came back” after retiring (40:07).

On Diamonds & Ethics

• Lab-Grown vs. Natural Diamonds:
  • Uses lab diamonds only for prototypes by default, willing to offer them for custom projects (30:06).
  • Considers the emotion and “dream” associated with natural stones—“If you know it’s coming from a lab, where is the dream?” (31:32)
  • Final decision is about “what the emotion, what the piece is bringing you.” (32:00)

Pricing, Market, and Design

• Pricing Calculations:

  • Carefully benchmarked to align with competitors’ entry-level pieces; “...every single brand we were benchmarking always used for the entry price a 0.3 karat [diamond].” (36:20)
  • Costs are ever-shifting with material fluctuations; big brands hedge by buying raw materials in advance, a challenge for independents (38:36).

• Supply Chain Pressure:

  • Large conglomerates tie up ateliers or buy them outright, making it challenging for independents—Charlotte spends years sourcing the right partners (40:07).

Style, Shopping, and Consumption

• Charlotte’s Fashion Consumption:
  • Mostly wears clothes from brands she collaborates with or vintage ("I borrow a lot to my boyfriend...When I need a really beautiful dress for an event, I'm good friends with some brands, so I will borrow a dress." 48:17)
  • Uses French resale app Vinted for vintage (48:15).
  • Finds new Chanel and Celine by Michael (her former colleague) especially compelling (49:31, 50:24).

Looking Ahead

• Creative Direction:
  • Embracing new formats and categories—recently collaborated with Christofle on cutlery, seeks to “stimulate my brain…exploring a bit more cultural pieces that maybe could have a different purpose, such as just piece of art.” (51:00, 51:30)
  • Maintains a balance between commercial success and creative fulfillment.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On finding her start in jewelry:
  “Nicolas [Ghesquière] asked me to work on jewelry for a show...I had no clue about how you do jewelry, how you work on it...this is how I started.” (05:59, Charlotte Cheney)

• On jewelry as social signifier:
  “I really think it has a lot of similarity with car business. It’s a sign of richness, of who you belong to. Are you the blue box at Tiffany?...It’s a social status to me.” (27:01, Charlotte Cheney)

• On dramatic price changes:
  “Today the price of a kilogram of silver is reaching €3,000...Gold...almost €140,000 a kilo. In less than six months. So nightmare. It's a nightmare.” (18:29-19:20, Charlotte Cheney)

• On emotional value of diamonds:
  “Of course in the end everything is marketing because we know that the molecule is the same, but it's just a story you buy. And in the end...when you buy to a brand, you also buy the story that the brand is telling you.” (31:32, Charlotte Cheney)

• On creativity and independence:
  “Talent does matter because...someone will come to Charlotte Cheney for Charlotte Cheney. You can't get that anywhere else.” (41:31, Lauren Sherman)

• On the struggle of running her own brand:
  “It’s hard in many different ways...being self-financial, to being a mom at the same time. I'm doing many sacrifices, not seeing my friends so often, my kids so often...I still believe it's worth it because I have this fire inside me that I strongly believe in my design.” (43:10, Charlotte Cheney)

Key Timestamps

• 04:43 — Charlotte recounts the launch of her brand and her dual role as a designer for others.
• 05:23–06:44 — On starting out, education, and Balenciaga experience.
• 07:50–09:47 — Why Ghesquière’s Balenciaga was so influential & differences now.
• 13:11–16:09 — Founding her brand, aesthetic motivations, early strategies for materials.
• 17:57–19:20 — Explanations of dramatic raw material price increases.
• 21:34–23:32 — Discussion of wholesale vs. consignment business models and their impact on independents.
• 23:58–25:34 — Why her pieces caught on quickly; unique aesthetic and personal motivation.
• 26:47–29:56 — Comparison with big brands, jewelry as status, jewelry as investment versus other accessories.
• 30:06–32:00 — On diamonds, lab-grown and emotional value.
• 36:20–39:41 — Pricing strategy, market challenges, and effects of supply chain competition from conglomerates.
• 40:07–44:55 — Relationships with ateliers, impact of acquisitions by luxury groups, challenges as a creative independent.
• 46:42–47:53 — Charlotte’s approach to shopping, vintage, and practicality as a fashion industry insider.
• 49:31–50:45 — What excites Charlotte in fashion now (Celine, Chanel).
• 51:00–52:14 — Future plans: experimenting with new product categories and collaborations to sustain creativity.

Tone & Takeaways

Charlotte is candid, reflective, and sometimes self-deprecating but always passionate about design, the business of jewelry, and the cultural symbolism of adornment. Lauren guides the conversation with warmth, curiosity, and a “fashion insider” sensibility, resulting in a deep, real-world snapshot of the pleasures and pitfalls of independent creativity in luxury today.

For full details and more of Charlotte’s unique insights, listen at [Fashion People by Puck].