Some of the most famous brands in France were initially and often still are family businesses. A few even headed by women! Meet six historic French entrepreneur families starting with Chaumet the creator of the 2024 Paris Olympics Medals.
ChaumetMarie-Etienne Nitot was an 18th century creator. He started near the top apprenticing to Marie-Antoinette's personal jeweller. In 1780 he founded his own maison. He survived the trauma of the Revolution to thrive under Napoleon who had an ambition to re-make France a center for luxury and fashion. Beginning with Napoleon's coronation sword Nitot became an important creator for the Empire and one of the most sought after jewellers in Europe. His son took the reins in 1812 and set up on Place Vendome. Joseph Chaumet became the director in 1885. His signature in the time of the belle epoque was nature-inspired aigrettes and tiaras which were social symbols. Tiaras morph…