Collaborating with Designer Charlotte Chesnais to Create a New Cutlery Set
ShanghaiApril 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Christofle, the French silversmith with a century-old heritage, has partnered with designer Charlotte Chesnais, renowned for breaking traditional forms with her dynamic sculptural jewelry, to unveil a new cutlery collection — the Carrousel series, comprising a cutlery set and an exclusive storage case.
This collection deeply embodies Charlotte Chesnais’ design aesthetic, resulting from meticulous craftsmanship and the fusion of French savoir-faire. It continues the brand heritage that Christofle has upheld since its founding in 1830, while also showcasing the shared pursuit of contemporary elegance and innovative concepts. Unlike any cutlery in the brand’s history, the curved design conceived by Charlotte Chesnais extends the form of jewelry from wearable adornments to the dining table, becoming a vessel that encapsulates shared moments.
Source of Creation
This is a convergence of two meticulous philosophies in metal craftsmanship — jewelry art and cutlery design. The hollowed teardrop shapes at the base of the forks and spoons balance form and function, endowing the cutlery with a jewelry-like charm. The Carrousel series includes 24 essential pieces: forks, knives, and two sizes of spoons. The collection is presented in Christofle’s signature material, silver-plated metal. Thanks to Christofle’s special partial gilding technique passed down through other collections, the brand also offers a two-tone customization service with 18K gold partial gilding, a subtle tribute to Charlotte Chesnais’ iconic style.
Beyond the cutlery, Charlotte Chesnais conceived an exceptional exclusive storage case, itself an independent work of art. Its two-tone exterior design is sleek and sturdy. An integrated hinge mechanism allows one side of the case to open and close flexibly, like opening a door to a secret chamber. When opened, it reveals a walnut panel, where the entire cutlery set can be stored vertically using an ingenious dowel system. Though intended for daily use, this cutlery set exudes an elegant demeanor in life. Whether displayed flat or hung, it transforms into an artistic focal point in any space. The design of the storage case evokes the planar art of French sculptor Jean Arp, resembling a movable artwork. Inside the exclusive case, the walnut panel cradles each piece of cutlery like a cradle, neatly arranged like a collection of dynamic sculptures — a performance of art and a showcase of functionality.
This design follows the lineage of Christofle’s iconic MOOD collection, launched in 2014. The storage case not only fulfills the dual functions of displaying and storing the cutlery but also makes the entire collection a focal element of “Art on the Table” (l’Art sur la table), infusing the dining scene with an artistic atmosphere.
Origin of the Collaboration
Christofle initially extended a collaboration invitation to Charlotte Chesnais due to the brand’s deep tradition of cross-disciplinary partnerships with artists and designers, such as Jean Cocteau, Gio Ponti, and Andrée Putman, who have infused the brand with creative inspiration, reshaping craft expression with ingenuity and forward-looking vision. The collaboration then focused on cutlery design — offering Chesnais a fascinating creative opportunity to transform her mastery of gleaming metal lines and negative space into non-wearable functional objects, an area where Christofle excels at turning craft constraints into technical highlights.
Charlotte Chesnais’ jewelry pieces are crafted by European workshops, upholding the heritage of meticulous craftsmanship, precious materials, and traditional techniques. In this collaboration, she worked closely with Christofle’s workshop in the town of Yainville, Normandy, France, for over two years, with both parties proud of this French-made outcome. They each contributed their expertise to serve the new design and created specialized tools specifically for producing these pieces. Christofle’s process of manufacturing each cutlery piece from metal sheets has thus entered a new realm of design sophistication. Unlike other brand collections, the Carrousel series is truly “tabletop jewelry.”
Design Expression
Charlotte Chesnais has always been dedicated to exploring the interaction between jewelry and the body, with her creative scope also encompassing sculptural objects like sculptures and candlesticks. She has long been fascinated by cutlery: focusing on the functional purpose of each piece while also exploring the boundaries of artistic expression. For the Carrousel series, she conducted meticulous research and repeated refinement of proportions, such as the more distinctive “shoulder” lines and edge thickness, establishing a new timeless style within the brand’s collections through a sensibility and modern aesthetic.
“The aesthetic of Carrousel is consistent with everything I have created since founding my brand in 2015. Creating a cutlery series and learning a craft that is similar yet different from my own has long been a dream. The unique shape of the storage case and the way the cutlery is stored reflect my design approach of integrating sculptural concepts with purposeful, personal objects,” said Charlotte Chesnais. “Like jewelry, these are pieces that can accompany you for a lifetime — and at the same time, they will bear witness to precious memories of countless shared moments.”
About Charlotte Chesnais
As a master of timeless design, Charlotte Chesnais creates ingenious and distinctive works that traverse the boundary between jewelry and sculpture. Her eponymous brand showcases pure forms: lines and curves engaged in an eternal dialogue with the human body. Whether adorning the neck, wrist, or earlobe, each piece carries a refined sensibility, capturing a captivating rhythmic expression. Chesnais began her career at Balenciaga, collaborating with Nicolas Ghesquière, with a representative piece being a stacking bracelet emphasizing proportional interaction. In 2015, she founded her independent jewelry brand, Charlotte Chesnais, in Paris. With the confidence to reshape traditional forms, Chesnais has built a unique design vision that transcends the realm of jewelry. The designer states: “I have always pushed beyond established aesthetic frameworks, and over time, I have formed my own design system.”
About Christofle
Silver Endures, Shines in Life
Christofle, a French luxury silverware brand, was founded in Paris in 1830 by the visionary jeweler and entrepreneur Charles Christofle. Since its inception, Christofle has been renowned for high-quality silverware, becoming an official supplier to the French court, gracing the residences of distinguished clients, embellishing opulent dining tables, illuminating legendary ocean liner voyages, and adorning iconic landmarks such as the Paris Opera.
For nearly two centuries, the brand has continuously innovated in the fields of cutlery, jewelry, and home decor through generational technical expertise. Christofle collaborates with talented artists and renowned designers, integrating product functionality into French aesthetics, playful elegance, and confident style.
Always maintaining modernity and its founding heritage, every Christofle piece can be passed down through generations. While the Christofle workshop caters to custom requests from special clients, its iconic mirror-polished silverware enriches the lives of all. Globally, Christofle invites you to a radiant life rendezvous: Silver endures, shines in life.
Image Copyright © Roe Ethridge – Pierre Mahieu