Style Edit: Chanel No 5 celebrates more than a century of elegance, from the 1921 perfume through 1932’s Bijoux de Diamants high jewellery, to 2021’s Collection No 5 inspired by the iconic fragrance

May 12, 2025

Marion Cotillard wearing the Chanel Collection N°5 55.55 necklace, showcasing a 55.55-carat diamond. Photo: Handout

Coco Chanel intended for No 5 to be ‘a woman’s perfume, with the scent of a woman’; a century on, Collection No 5 introduced high jewellery pieces including a 55.55-carat diamond necklace

Just over a century ago, the world’s most iconic fragrance was born. The year was 1921, and Chanel No 5 was “a woman’s perfume, with the scent of a woman”, according to Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. It was also the first perfume the legendary French couturier released. Five was her lucky number.

Born in 1921, Chanel No 5 was designed to be “a woman’s perfume, with the scent of a woman”, according to Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. Photo: Handout

Just over a decade later, Coco Chanel launched her first and only high jewellery collection. The year was 1932, and Bijoux de Diamants was born out of the designer’s desire to, as she put it, “cover women in constellations”. Chanel’s choice of gemstone could be considered radical in the midst of the Great Depression. “If I have chosen diamonds, it is because they represent the greatest value in the smallest volume,” she explained, highlighting the emphasis she placed on considerations of practicality as well as aesthetics.