De La Valma x Taittinger

How did your collaboration come about?

Pia Andriveau Taittinger : I discovered Victoire’s jewellery on social media long before I started working at Taittinger. I loved the raw quality of her pieces, as well as their simplicity and the sensitivity they exuded. Today, I’m responsible for sourcing and developing Chromatique’s product range. This involves selecting objects and devising collaborations that fit seamlessly into the House’s world. Victoire’s charms were a natural fit, and we wanted to take it a step further by creating pieces together that also tell our story. So I got in touch with her, using the graffiti in the cellar as a starting point.

Victoire Valmary : Quand Pia m’a écrit, j’avais lancé De La Valma depuis environ six mois. Je revenais d’un séjour de trois mois en Asie consacré à la production et au développement de nouveaux modèles. À ce moment-là, j’avais justement envie de créer pour d’autres marques et de mettre mon travail au service de leur histoire. Mes amulettes sont un peu comme des toiles vierges : elles se prêtent particulièrement bien à cet exercice. Taittinger a été ma première collaboration.


Victoire, what led you to create De La Valma?

Victoire Valmary : I worked in vintage fashion for many years before joining my parents, the founders of Louise Carmen. There, I developed the concept of charms to attach to notebooks. I also travelled extensively to unearth unique pieces of jewellery, until a chance encounter inspired me to create my own. It took me two and a half years of research to perfect my charms. I felt it was important to incorporate stones into them because I believe in their energy, just as I believe in the power of symbols and the intentions we carry with us. I also wanted to give everyone the freedom to mix and match them: one, two or ten on a single chain, to create a piece of jewellery that changes with each day.

Pia Andriveau Taittinger : This freedom of composition echoed the concept of ‘blending’ in champagne. I was also struck by their timeless quality and their intimate nature. They are small objects that we choose for ourselves and keep close at hand.

What gives meaning to this collaboration?

Victoire Valmary : A piece of jewellery can carry far more than its aesthetic value alone. You can associate with a memory, a loved one, a hope or a dream. Some people choose a charm because of the symbolism associated with its stone. Others see it as a memento of a journey. Drawing on Taittinger’s heritage and family stories, we’re giving them an extra starting point, which everyone is free to build on in their own way.

How did you come up with the collection?

Victoire Valmary : I visited the cellars in Reims with Pia and Vitalie Taittinger to photograph the graffiti that inspired us. The three of us then sat down together around a table to choose the words and symbols that best captured the spirit of the House. The charms are reversible: one side features a stone or a design, the other an inscription. This interplay guided us in the creative process. It all happened very naturally, and the broad outlines of the collection took shape in just over an hour.

Pia Andriveau Taittinger : We chose the word ‘Folie’ in particular for its connection to the Folies de la Marquetterie cuvée, but also for everything it can evoke beyond champagne.
Another charm is inspired by a letter my great-grandmother wrote to her husband, Jean Taittinger. In it, she described their meeting ‘as two stars colliding so forcefully that they become fused together forever’; we chose to retain only the opening lines. This sentence retains the power of the memory that gave rise to it, whilst allowing everyone the opportunity to recognise their own story within it.

What pieces make up the collection?

Victoire Valmary : It comprises five charms based on three designs by De La Valma: Rio, Bangkok and New Moon. I experimented with more than fourteen different silver textures to achieve this raw look and these subtle variations from one piece to the next.
‘Racine’ combines an emerald – symbolically linked to family ties – with a vine motif created by Vitalie Taittinger. Her style is deliberately minimalist and organic.
‘Folie’ features a citrine – a stone associated with joy – whose colour is reminiscent of champagne.
For ‘Toujours’, we have chosen a blue topaz set within a four-pointed star topped with a shamrock. The design is based on one of the graffiti pieces found in the House’s cellars.
The ‘Comtes’ charm forges a link with the House, evoking its prestige cuvée as well as the figure who inspired it, Thibaut IV. When you turn it over, you’ll find a green amethyst, a symbol of harmony between the mind and the emotions.
Finally, on a larger charm, a carnelian accompanies the inscription ‘Like two stars colliding’.

What is it that makes a piece of jewellery something we become attached to?

Victoire Valmary : Its timelessness. I design my jewellery with the hope that it will stand the test of time and be passed down from generation to generation.

Pia Andriveau Taittinger : I believe that attachment is also built up through what we invest in an object. This is key to our selection at Chromatique: each piece must reveal a glimpse into the House’s private world and introduce guests to its universe beyond champagne.
With this collection, we are sharing fragments of our history that can become part of the history of those who wear them. A charm chosen today may be joined by another later on. The jewellery collection thus takes shape over time and takes on an increasingly personal value.

Do you picture the people who will wear your jewellery?

Victoire Valmary : I’ve never sought to target a specific clientele. The photos my clients send me show a wide variety of profiles and styles. For this collection, we’ve designed pieces for both women and men.

Pia Andriveau Taittinger : Yes, we asked ourselves that question in particular with regard to ‘Racine’, imagining how a man might make it his own. In the shop, we’ve started displaying the charms on cords. This way of wearing them works really well and allows you to mix up your styles.

What do you have in common in the way you create?

Victoire Valmary : Instinct! With Pia, a sense of trust developed naturally. We were able to follow our instincts and exchange ideas very freely.

Are you thinking of a follow-up collection?

Pia Andriveau Taittinger : This first collection is limited to around fifty pieces per design, slightly fewer for the larger charms. Moving forward, we’d like to create a new collection rather than reissue this one.

Victoire Valmary : Ever since I met the Taittinger team, my notebooks have been filling up with ideas. There’s still so much to explore, and this shared vision makes me want to continue the adventure.