Marie-Laure Cérède is Chanel’s new director of the jewelry creation studio, the house announced on Tuesday. Speculation swirled that she would join the company following her departure from Cartier at the end of last year; she will officially join Chanel in October 2026.

“Marie-Laure Cérède is one of the most talented, refined, and accomplished creative directors of her generation,” Chanel global executive chair Alain Wertheimer and global CEO Leena Nair said in a joint statement. “Her vision, creative ingenuity, and distinct talent to lead creative studios will shape the next chapter of Chanel’s creative story for jewelry.”

The position had been left vacant since Patrice Leguéreau, Chanel’s director of the jewelry creation studio for 15 years, passed away in 2024.

Cérède was Cartier creative director of jewelry and watchmaking between 2016 and 2025. In her next role, she will be responsible for precious jewelry and high jewelry creations. (At Cartier, high jewelry did not fall below her remit.) Cérède will report to Frédéric Grangié, president of watches and fine jewelry, and will work alongside Arnaud Chastaingt, the house’s longtime director of its watchmaking creation studio.

According to Morgan Stanley estimates, the Chanel watches and jewelry business accounts for around 5% of the house’s sales (approximately $965 million), based on 2025’s turnover of $19.3 billion.

Grangié said: “Her approach to creativity as a delicate balance between heritage, emotion, audacity, and restraint will bring a new perspective to the Chanel codes that define our unique creations. Marie-Laure’s imagination and deep expertise in craft and knowledge of gemology will take Chanel in exciting new directions.”

“I am honored and moved to join Chanel,” Cérède added, “a maison of singular cultural force and exceptional discipline that continues to question convention, redefine femininity, and express modernity through form and spirit.”