Walking into Muriel Chastanet’s Fine Jewelry is like
stumbling into a pirate’s treasure trove.
Muriel Chastanet has kept an atelier in Westwood for 40 years,
and produces handmade jewelry using an ancient technique.
Chastanet, a Paris native, came to Westwood after leaving New
York’s Parson’s Art School where she studied
painting.
Chastanet said she came to Westwood because it was a popular
place for people in Los Angeles to visit. She and her daughters
remain in Westwood due to their loyal clientele, Chastanet
said.
Their clients include students and faculty from UCLA, as well as
artists and people working in the entertainment industry.
Chastanet and her daughters work one-on-one with each customer
to produce a unique design for jewelry using a “lost wax
system” that has been handed down in the family.
The wax system has been in use for over 3,000 years, and was a
technique the Egyptians used, Chastanet said.
Each piece of jewelry must undergo a process that involves the
use of the wax system.
In order to create a piece of jewelry, Chastanet carves a wax
setting and makes a plaster of paris mold out of it. When molten
metal is poured into the mold, the wax setting inside is melted,
and the metal replaces it, producing the gold or platinum
setting.
Chastanet’s daughters, Gizelle and Charlotte Chastanet,
are heiresses to this family tradition, making them
fourth-generation jewelers.
Chastanet’s grandfather and father were both jewelers in
Paris before teaching Chastanet about the trade. Chastanet’s
daughters were then taught the techniques, and began working with
their mother.
“I came in here and watched my mom work, and here I am
now, 30 years later,” Gizelle said.
The Chastanets plan on making Gizelle’s daughters into
fifth-generation jewelers.
“Passing on a family tradition is really nice. It’s
not too common in America to have the family business passed
down,” Gizelle said.
The Chastanets want to pass down the tradition because it has
been alive in their family for so long, and because of the
job’s artistic element, they said.
“I very much enjoy what I do, and so do my daughters,
because it allows us to work with our creative side,”
Chastanet said.
They related that another part of what they enjoy about the job
is being inspired by other cultures.
“We travel all over the world to get ideas,”
Charlotte said.
The Chastanets have travelled to places like Egypt, Greece,
India and Hong Kong.
The family’s travels have allowed them to collect jewelry
created by other international artists and jewelers, and have also
influenced their own work.
The Chastanets’ own jewelry focuses on creating a unique
design with equally unique jewels.
“You fall in love with the beauty each stone has,”
Gizelle said.
Gizelle studied gems at the Gemological Institute of America,
and said she uses her knowledge to find unique jewels for the
Chastanets’ pieces.
Jewels in their collection include pieces of fossil and
meteorite which are put into a gold or platinum setting.
The Chastanets get their assortment of jewels from their
travels, gem shows and their connections with gem sellers.
Using the gems and settings, the Chastanets make jewelry for men
and women. They provide anything from engagement rings to personal
amulets and talismans.
“It’s a personal interest of mine to research
mythology,” Chastanet said.
Through her research, Chastanet creates jewelry that illustrates
her clients’ personal philosophies and beliefs, she said.
Each client works with the Chastanets to create their own
one-of-a-kind pieces.
When creating engagement and wedding rings for their customers,
Chastanet said it is especially important to work with the
customer.
“I think something as special as an engagement or wedding
ring should get a lot of research … in order to make the customer
feel good about what they have,” Chastanet said.
Most clients make an appointment to visit the atelier and work
personally on a piece with the Chastanets.
Due to the care they take with their clients, the Chastanets do
not worry about larger chain jewelry stores taking their business
away, Charlotte said.
“People who come to us have been looking for us,”
she said.
The Chastanets say their clients include people who do not
normally wear jewelry because they are not attracted to what is
offered in most jewelry stores.
“We have what appeals to people who like the
unusual,” Charlotte said.