How Chaumet turned a coronation into a modern love story for Qixi

Jeweler enlists an award-winning actress and two Cannes-selected filmmakers to recast ‘coronation’ from a royal motif into a proposal both partners make.

Chaumet has released “We Crown Each Other,” a short film marking Qixi (Chinese Valentine’s Day), which falls on August 19 this year, alongside new pieces from its “Joséphine” collection. The work stars China brand ambassador Wen Qi (Vicky Chen), who won best supporting actress at the Golden Horse Awards in 2017 at age 14.

Behind the camera are two filmmakers with recent Cannes credits: director Zhou Jinghao, whose debut “Girl on Edge” screened in Directors’ Fortnight in 2025, and cinematographer Chengma Zhiyuan, who shot Wei Shujun’s “Only the River Flows.” Their brief was to take Chaumet’s “coronation” motif — inherited from Empress Joséphine — and strip out the hierarchy.

On a riverside staircase at sunset, a couple play rock-paper-scissors. Each round, the loser climbs a step toward the other, until almost no distance is left. He reaches for a ring box hidden behind his back — and a second Chaumet box comes into view behind her. Both had come to propose. The ring at the center of this “two-way proposal” comes from Chaumet’s Joséphine collection.