The Jewelry Essentials Everyone Should Own

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Despite being a descendant of Louis Cartier, Jean Dousset wasn't destined to go into the jewelry business. "By the time I was born, Cartier had been sold out of the family," Dousset said. "I wasn't raised crawling around the stores of Cartier or immersed in the whole epic story of Cartier." However, when an opportunity arose to interview for a job at a famed French jewelry house, Dousset knew it was meant to be. "I just happened, one day, to receive an opportunity to interview for one of the famous French jewelry houses called Chaumet Place Vendôme, the epicenter of jewelry," Dousset said.

For the latest episode of The Who What Wear Podcast, Dousset shares how he got his start in the jewelry business, why he made the switch to working with lab-grown diamonds, and more.

For excerpts from the conversation, scroll below.

You are a descendant of Louis Cartier, so your history of high jewelry obviously precedes you. I know you've never actually worked for Cartier, but I want to give listeners a quick overview of how you found yourself still in the fine jewelry business, where you worked up until you launched your own label.

By the time I was born, Cartier had been sold out of the family. I wasn't raised crawling around the stores of Cartier or immersed in the whole epic story of Cartier. I just was sort of in the background, more storytelling, and I wasn't destined from the get-go into the jewelry business. Nobody in my family is in the jewelry business in any way, shape, or form.

I just happened, one day, to receive an opportunity to interview for one of the famous French jewelry houses called Chaumet Place Vendôme, the epicenter of jewelry. Then I walked in the space, and I was immediately taken by the grandeur of the place, its historical dimension, the displays, the gemstones. That was the start of my career.