In 1950, Robert Goossens, whose father owned a foundry in the Marais, opened a little goldsmith studio. This brilliant artisan – driven by insatiable curiosity, always eager to take his technique to the next level – marked his time and the world of couture jewellery. When he met Gabrielle Chanel in 1953, she recognised his creative strength. Together, they designed jewellery in the antique or Byzantine style and delighted in blurring boundaries, in playing with the hallmarks of genuine and costume jewellery. At Goossens, metal is treated with the same care as fine jewellery; glass paste and rock crystal mimic real stones. With her “Byzantine barbarian”, as she called him, Chanel adapted her favourite symbols to jewellery: cross, lion, sun, star and feather.

When Robert Goossens met Gabrielle Chanel in 1953, she encouraged him to design his first decorative objects: a trio of gilt bronze lions supporting a rock crystal globe, followed by a water-lily pedestal table and another table resting on a wheat-sheaf leg – some of Goossens’ most iconic designs. By entering the field of decorative arts, Goossens proved his uncanny ability to transition from the relatively small scale of jewellery to that of furniture and art objects, using the same materials (fine gilded metal and rock crystal), tools and techniques.

Since March 2021, Goossens has been working from the new le19M building on the edge of Paris.