THE SOUL

A human story embodied

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The Mathon soul is attached within the family’s history, driven by Roger Mathon, grandfather of the current leader, Aude.

From the post-war period, the artist Roger Mathon, trained at the Arts Decorative and at Ecole Boulle, deployed its creative talents in various artistic fields such as painting, modelling and ceramics. After gaining various experiences, he eventually settled on jewellery drawing. He drew his inspiration from nature and the lush environment of his country home. The animals of the forest, the plants and the flowers feed his creations with an organic aesthetic, thus creating the Mathon style. Inspired by his creative genius Roger sketched, painted, carved boxwood and shaped bronze, in search of silhouette and texture. He imposed quickly his vision and unique style to the Parisian Houses and workshops that multiplied orders. At work as in the country house, where they raised their children, Roger was supported by his wife Louise. In the early 70’s, they took over Atelier Bournadet, thus obtaining a workshop to manufacture Roger’s creations. It was a lavish era where everything was allowed, the projects were numerous and they moved forward faster.

Shortly after, Roger enlisted his children, who brought within their area of expertise a new growth. Catherine, incorporated within her jewellery designs coloured stones and within her jewellery designs, which laid down the signature of the MATHON PARIS brand. Frédéric undertook the overseas market, laying the foundation for Asian and American development. Pascal introduced the first technological innovations into the workshop, skilfully combining craftsmanship and modern techniques.

In the 2010s, the couple Aude and Jean-Baptiste, gradually joined this venture. Together, they combined a humanist approach to management with a controlled method of production.

Beyond the creation style, nature has filled the soul and heart of the Mathon family with simplicity, sincerity and authenticity. Discretion and humility are the fundamentals. This is why Aude and Jean-Baptiste put at the heart of their workshop’s development kindness and love of delicate craftsmanship. This was achieved through the intelligence of craftsmen combined with decades of business expertise.

These values reflect the mood and the Mathon style. They have shaped the workshop and continue to shine today.

Deep within the soul

Roger Mathon

« My father was perceived as a complete artist. His clients naturally spoke of him as someone great for creation. »

« He has managed to gain credibility among all the workshops, their clients and the famous houses of Place Vendôme. »

« Beyond drawing, he wanted to create new materials with different surfaces. He was interested in the look and feel. He was resolutely modern. »

Frédéric Mathon

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Mathon origins come from the countryside. The whole family lived in the countryside. Already concerned with ecology ahead of time, my father could no longer stand being in Paris anymore.

He liked being within nature, taking care of the garden. We went to fetch the mushrooms, the snails. It was my youth.

My father was making jewellery to sell to workshops. He made his models, made the prototypes of his drawings and went to sell them once a week in Parisian workshops.

He has managed to gain credibility among all the workshops, their clients and the famous houses of Place Vendôme.

My dad searched a long time to find his vocation. He considered himself as an artist and spent his free time painting. He painted until the end of his life. With his creative flair he wanted to reinterpret his nature observations.

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He began his career by doing Les Arts Décoratifs (Decorative Arts School) and then practiced various artistic careers. He made medals for Arthus Bertrand, painted cinema posters -This left him with extraordinary memories.

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He ended up finding his way in jewellery design. He was drawing for a big manufacturer at the time until the day he decided to carry on his activities alone.

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As a drawing artist and sculptor, he sculpted objects. He sold his objects and his prototypes to his customers.

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At that time we used little stones, we made a lot of gold jewellery. He worked the surface of the jewel and was constantly looking for new materials.

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He carved wood pieces, applied glue on prototype and then put into flour to experiment new surface rendering. He was happy to test something new.

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Beyond drawing, he wanted to create new materials so that the surface would be different. He was interested in the volume and feel. He was resolutely modern. With Boucheron's cat for instance, he was able to translate the essence of a cat in an abstract way.

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Likewise Van Cleef's lion Ebouriffé clip had a very cutting edge design and line at the time.

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He was perceived as a complete artist. My dad's clients naturally spoke of him as someone with lot of ideas and great for creating.

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He did things as he intended to do. He made few compromises and imposed his point of view on his customers. He would not have been able to listen to another designer. Besides, it never happened. His drawings were accepted, signed, manufactured and he delivered the finished piece. The customer was not involved within the production process.

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He became a business leader concerned with sustainability and foresight on the evolution of the world. He understood that the business model he initially set up would not be sustainable

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When family houses within the Place Vendôme that used to pass from father to son, were sold one by one to luxury groups, he realized that things would change radically. He understood that the industry was evolving.

Optimal balance

Frédéric, Catherine et Pascal Mathon

« I was taking care of international affairs, Catherine was drawing, Pascal was in charge of production. We were complementary. The business was not relying on one person. It was our strength. »

« The trust between us and our work continuity for years has been the strength of the company. We have always worked for the company to be in good financial health, flourishing and developing efficiently. »

« We had to set, cast, polish, master the entire production line, control it and not rely on small subcontractors in other trades. It was necessary to master these related trades for which we had limited knowledge. »

« We have always sought to keep creation as our DNA. If we had been a simple basic subcontractor we would have lost our know-how, the creative DNA of our father. »

Frédéric et Pascal Mathon

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Frédéric Mathon:
My father realized the importance of maintaining and sustaining our business. In his forties, he realized that the paradise of the countryside in which we lived was not financially sustainable.

His drawings became more and more complicated to sell and the houses hired their own designer. He realized that he had to come back to Paris and do the job of his clients.

He then bought the small workshop of an elderly gentleman, Camille Bournadet, to whom he used to sell his drawings. He learned to run a business and ran it like a small grocery store.
The accounting books used at the time were basic!

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Pascal Mathon:
We occupied a small part of the current premises. We were five employees. Purchasing the workshop was a big challenge. After 2 to 3 years, my father managed to develop the business step by step. At the time, it was easier to be an entrepreneur. You needed to have some grip and be a salesperson.

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Frédéric Mathon:
My father needed support he found in his children. He could not imagine posting an advert to find someone. Getting his children to work at the workshop was usual at the time. It's like the ball kids in circuses!

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The difference is that we did not get trained in jewellery schools but did other studies. We learned other trades. Children often went to school to work with their father and learn there. It was the traditional transmission.

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Our different and complementary courses have brought something to the company. Having learned international trade, I was able to go abroad, make trade shows and negotiate with Japanese or Americans.

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Having Catherine drawing was an added value. Pascal also drew and took care of the production. We were complementary. The business was not relying on one person. It was our strength.

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It was necessary to be assertive. I had to show great character and stubbornness to impose my views on my father. He respected them eventually, but I was forced to succeed because he would not allow things to get wrong.

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At each step, I was a little anxious to go explain to him how we were going to do. He was skeptical. He would not want to hear about some clients he did not like. He enjoyed working with those with whom he had a great affinity and with whom he had always worked.

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We had to prove that it could work well with those clients he did not like. Some of them are still our clients today, for 25 or 30 years. My father was a strong character and he made few compromises. It was necessary to push your way through to succeed.

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Aude Mathon :
The services were structured with my aunt in creation, my uncle in production, my father managing the company and in charge of sales.

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The company grew with a workshop and developed support functions that have helped maturing the company and set it on a larger scale, particularly internationally.

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Frédéric Mathon :
This allowed us to be much more open minded. We were not a "unique trade", we did not just make jewellery. Incorporating other trades brought us more skillset than those workshops that only manufacture the jewellery piece.

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We were far too few, between 10 or 12 people. We had to reach a critical size such as 25, 30 or 40 people. It was also necessary to associate the linked trades upstream and downstream.

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We needeed to make the setting, the melting, the polish in house: that’s mean master the entire production line, control it and not rely on small subcontractors in other crafts. It was necessary to master these related skills for which we had limited knowledge.

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Pascal Mathon :
We all contribute to the business development without stepping on each other’s toes. The trust between us has been the strength of the company. It was not always easy but we all worked towards the same goal.

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The continuity of our work for years has been our strength. We have always worked for the company to be in good financial health, flourishing and developing efficiently.

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We have always tried to offer high quality design, to develop internationally, especially in Japan and to make technological improvements. Customers have been more and more demanding. There are no similarities between what was manufactured in the 80s and today.

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We have always sought to keep creation as our DNA. If we had been a simple basic subcontractor we would have lost our know-how, the creative DNA of our father.

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Frédéric Mathon:
Creation is the essence of everything. I learnt it from my father. Doing something beautiful makes me happy, although beauty is subjective. I would not have been pleased if it did not look good. Creation is untouchable, it's essential.

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Today I appreciate the work done for our collection or for our partners and customers. There is no compromise on beauty and good taste; otherwise we could not do it.

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Working alongside our customers means that we think the same way with the same sensitivity. In luxury there is no sacrifice.

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Pascal Mathon :
I have served a company and ideas my whole life. I am proud to support French Parisian crafts.

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Frédéric Mathon :
Creating from scratch and going all the way then delivering this product as well as having a sustainable business are huge satisfactions.

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Pascal Mathon:
There are still beautiful years ahead of us with Aude and Jean Baptiste doing a great job. They have a very appropriate approach with customers and staff. Maybe they still have things to learn at a technical level, but I am very confident in the company future.

Passion for commitment

Aude Mathon and Jean-Baptiste Donnet

« My father laid down the foundation. He intuitively thought that Jean-Baptiste would succeed him, and that we would form a good team. By offering us this opportunity, he placed his trust in us. »

« I liked this opportunity: a small structure being able to do a lot of things, both operationally and strategically whist giving my all. Having these opportunities given to us two, together, as a couple, is exhilarating. It’s more than just a job, it’s our life and a pleasure most of the time. »

« With Aude we found ourselves driven by the same motivation and vision of life. Vision that we try to convey in the company, to those around us, jewellers, polishers and gemsetters. We are leading this venture together. »

« The Mathon family is not just about Aude, Frederic, Pascal or Catherine, but about all those who put their hearts to work. Everyone around us who makes jewellery puts their hearts into their work. They are part of the wider Mathon family. »

Aude Mathon et Jean-Baptiste Donnet

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Aude Mathon :
When we were little we lived in the street next to the workshop. During my first years in primary school my parents did some flat renovation works and we moved to the workshop for at least 6 months.

With my brother, we knew the people of the workshop even if we were shy and did not necessarily go to meet them. My father did not bring much jewellery pieces at home, but sometimes he brought gemstones.

During my last year in primary school I made a presentation with my best friend about gems and I asked my dad for a little documentation. He did something unbelievable: He brought me small boxes with tiny gemstones so that I could bring them to class and show them to my friends.

I felt that have a treasure and that I could gain access to something absolutely extraordinary, exclusive and kept secret.

I could gain access to jewels, precious stones and our family workshop but I was not fully aware of everything. The Mathon family members have always been a bit reserved and do not talk too much about themselves.

I was not aware of all the activities going on but I knew they were making jewellery and I had the opportunity to see some.

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I could not look beyond as I had no idea what I could do in a jewellery workshop. I then discovered all the trades related to the sales order and I found it interesting. I learned a lot about international trade, distribution channel and luxury marketing.

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I joined the house naturally; it was not a business approach contrary to what people might think. I did not take the usual road to make jewellery, but wondering what I could do to what they already mastered.

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I held a marketing function for the first two years, during which I was not directly in contact with the workshop. But when I attended my uncle and then took up his position at the production department, I was constantly connected with the workshop.

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The first thing my father told me was not to stay in front of my computer or in front of my lamp to check the pieces, but to go to the workshop to see the craftsmen. That's how I learnt and something happened. It was really interesting. It was like going back to school but within a company.

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I brought some management tools or some production tools even if they were very rudimentary compared to what Jean-Baptiste could do later.

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Above all, I have received a lot. I have received a lot from Michel, the workshop manager who was there for 30 to 35 years. He was at the end of his career and retired when I left the production department that Jean-Baptiste could have run over.

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Michel took me under his wing and was eager to teach me the same way he did with the apprentices that he trained before me except that they were artisans.

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We got on well, because I did not pretend to know. He just took the time to explain to me and to learn. We had a nice communication. With Michel I built a genuine relationship – nothing to compare with my family relationship. He passed on to me everything he knew before leaving.

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This experience within the production department lasted 3 years and was very full on. When I saw that I mastered successfully, that I was accepted in the workshop and that we were building something, I understood that I was on the right track and that I would increasingly enjoy it.

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My father laid down the foundation. He intuitively thought that Jean-Baptiste and I would succeed him, and that we would form a good team. By offering this opportunity, he placed his trust in us and gave me a unique gift.

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Jean-Baptiste Donnet:
I liked this opportunity: a small structure to do a lot of things, both operational and strategic and to put his guts. Having these opportunities open to us, together, as a couple, is exhilarating.

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Even if we do not always agree it is a real life adventure. It's more than just a job, it's our life and a pleasure most of the time.

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I was very disappointed with the corporate competition in my previous experiences. We do not work to offer the best result but to be the best and climb the ladder.

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When I met Aude and her family, I was impressed by their honesty, their desire to do well. Their ambition is not to make maximum profit, to gain a maximum of money, but to offer beautiful products crafted with love.

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I joined immediately. Life is not about trying to sell at all costs but it’s more relevant to pass on a passion and things you love to others that share the same interest. Frédéric had always been honest, transparent, whether towards our customers, the employees or the family.

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I quickly found myself in these values which match my professional aspirations. It happened quite naturally.

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With Aude we found ourselves in a personal capacity around the same ambition and vision of life. Vision that we try to convey in the company, to those around us, jewellers, polishers and gemsetters. We are leading this adventure together.

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The Mathon family is not just about Aude, Frederic, Pascal, or Catherine, but about all of those who put their hearts to work. They are part of the wider Mathon family.

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Aude Mathon:
We do not manufacture product that pretend to be crafted. We really make handmade jewellery that has been thought by men and women who are part of the same family.

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It is a very united blood family, but also a wider family that includes people from work and those close to our heart... We do great things together without compromising on the work ethic and materials quality.

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We are transparent about our heritage. We carry an authentic message that emphasizes on work completed by craftsmen behind the scene.

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Even if we want to develop the house, do more things and diversify, we aim to protect our heritage, our story and the everyday life of those we work with.