PARIS — On a dark and bitterly cold January night this week, hundreds of guests in black tie, fur and assorted diamonds and emeralds descended upon the Place Vendôme, lit by the flames of scores of flickering candles set on the pavement.
The reason for the celebration? The official unveiling of 26 Place Vendôme, the flagship boutique of the French jeweler Boucheron following a multiyear, multimillion-euro refurbishment. And those who came through the doors on Monday were dazzled by more than just the light.
The French designer Pierre-Yves Rochon decorated the interiors.Creditvia Boucheron
Set across six floors, the Hôtel de Nocé, as it is formally known, includes a winter garden with a soaring glass roof and green marble floor, a bridal room, an horology room and a research library, plus a state-of-the-art gems suite where clients can examine loose stones. The house’s jewelry workshops and design studio were moved to the site, and there is a large, new one-bedroom apartment with Eiffel Tower views, where the V.I.C.s, or “Very Important Clients,” can stay (served 24/7 by a butler from the Ritz hotel, just across the square).
For the house to make such a substantial investment, especially when notes of caution are being sounded about the current and future state of luxury consumer confidence, might seem like bad timing. But according to Hélène Poulit-Duquesne, Boucheron’s chief executive since 2015, the restoration of the Hôtel de Nocé (it was built in 1717 and has been in Boucheron’s hands since 1893) was essential to reboot the brand. Which feels somewhat ironic.
“You can’t say that you are reinventing a maison for the future if your flagship is 15 years old; a partial face-lift at this point would not have cut it,” Ms. Poulit-Duquesne said the day after the soirée, as she sat in the Salon Chinois. A small ground-floor room with carmine-red walls and 19th-century furniture, it was a sanctuary from the hive of activity that was the Grand Salon salesroom nearby. “Besides, this place is much more than just a boutique,” she added, “it is part of our heritage, and a celebration of our 160th anniversary. More than that, it is also our home.”
Kering, the parent group controlled by the billionaire Pinault family, which acquired Boucheron in 2000, ensured the space would be impressive but also welcoming. Pierre-Yves Rochon, decorator of hotels including the Four Seasons George V in Paris and the Peninsula in Shanghai, designed the interiors, replacing many of the usual sales desks with round tables. A quirky black and white digital portrait of the house’s founder, Frédéric Boucheron, with mischievous eyes that seem to follow guests as they walk past, hangs on the grand staircase wall. And sales personnel wear a more colorful and contemporary wardrobe — pieces like silk blouses and dresses with vibrant swirls from the Paris shop Fête Impériale — instead of conventional dark uniforms.
At a time when some wealthy shoppers are moving away from buying luxury goods and toward opulent experiences, the common wisdom in high-end retail is that the creation of a unique and compelling story is the key to having people return again and again. In Ms. Poulit-Duquesne’s eyes, that means Boucheron must enhance its reputation for gold work and elaborate jeweling with the allure of its heritage.
“Clients have been coming in with stars in their eyes in a way they never have before,” she said, beaming, as dozens of well-dressed groups — largely from Asia — milled around the sales floor. (Guests at the official opening night also had stared at the gilded walls, restored ceilings and showstopping jewels as they sat at mirrored tables and dined on lobster and veal with French wines, including Champagnes.)
And what was next on the horizon?
“A year of serenity,” Ms. Poulit-Duquesne said. “We have worked so hard in anticipation of this moment and we plan to be here for many centuries to come. The luxury business is a marathon, not a sprint, after all.”
