What DESRUES does

DESRUES, headquartered in Plailly, France, is a specialized B2B manufacturer of costume jewelry, buttons, belts, and fashion accessories serving the global luxury fashion industry. Founded in 1929 by George Desrues on Rue Amelot in Paris and acquired by CHANEL in 1985 as the first Métiers d'Art entity, the company combines traditional artisanal savoir-faire with industrial-scale production. Its Plailly facility houses 300+ artisans, engineers, stylists, and model-makers executing capabilities across hand model-making, lost-wax metal casting, watchmaking-grade precision machining, electroplating (~100 color shades), galalithe and resin polymer processing, glass bead making (3,000-year-old technique), complex assembly, and leatherwork added in 2020.

The company operates a direct B2B model with luxury fashion houses, working in close collaboration with creative studios from brief through industrialized production. Quality testing includes extreme-condition protocols (tropical atmosphere, thermal shock, drop tests, dry cleaning, UV). Revenue derives from bespoke, quote-based manufacturing contracts rather than disclosed pricing; products are embedded into client collections and sold as finished luxury goods. CHANEL is the anchor customer, with historical ties to Madeleine Vionnet, Balmain, Jeanne Lanvin, and Hubert de Givenchy from earlier decades.

Technologically, DESRUES integrates 3D digital design, additive manufacturing (including metal 3D printing), 3D scanning for heritage archival, and robotics alongside traditional techniques, formalized through an Innovation LAB established in 2009. The company is committed to 100% recycled metals and renewable energy, with a 30% carbon footprint reduction achieved between 2022-2023. Its competitive position rests on rare artisanal talent transmitted via compagnonnage-style apprenticeship, a nearly 100-year design archive, and structural integration within the CHANEL ecosystem.

Name

DESRUES

Legal name

Desrues SAS

Website

https://desrues-paris.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1929

Operating status

Operating

Short description

DESRUES is a French manufacturer of costume jewelry, buttons, belts, and fashion accessories serving luxury fashion houses, combining traditional artisanal craftsmanship with 3D design and additive manufacturing. Founded in 1929 and acquired by CHANEL in 1985 as the first Métiers d'Art entity, it employs 300+ at its Plailly facility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Luxury Fashion Accessories Manufacturing

NAICS

Jewelry and Silverware Manufacturing (33991), Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (3159)

SIC

Costume Jewelry & Novelties (3960), Jewelry, Silverware & Plated Ware (3910)

akta.pro primary industry

Fashion/Costume Jewelry Manufacturing (CRAKAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

CAD/3D Design & Rapid Prototyping for Custom Jewelry (CRAKAHAH), CAD/CAM, Wax Modeling & Prototyping Services (CRAKAIAJ), Bespoke Jewelry Collections for Brands (Design Services) (CRAKAHAJ)

Keywords

• Costume jewelry manufacturing
• Luxury fashion accessories
• Couture buttons production
• Artisanal metalwork
• Fashion embellishments

Headquarters

HQ city

Plailly

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. B2B Manufacturing for Luxury Houses: Desrues generates revenue by manufacturing costume jewelry, buttons, belts, and fashion accessories for luxury fashion houses under their direction and specifications. This is a business-to-business model where Desrues acts as a specialized subcontractor for the luxury industry, producing pieces based on client creative briefs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Desrues manufactures bespoke costume jewelry, buttons, belts, and fashion accessories for luxury fashion houses such as CHANEL, combining traditional artisanal craftsmanship (lost-wax casting, electroplating, glass bead making, leather work) with modern industrial technologies (3D design, additive manufacturing, precision machining, robotics). The company operates as a specialized B2B subcontractor, producing pieces based on client creative briefs for inclusion in couture and ready-to-wear collections.

Product overview

Desrues is a costume jewelry, buttons, and fashion accessories manufacturer for luxury fashion houses. The company offers a range of craftsmanship capabilities including hand model-making, digital 3D design, metal casting and machining, polymer processing, electroplating, glass casting, complex assembly, leather work, and eco-friendly processes. Rather than a software product or platform, Desrues provides manufacturing services and finished luxury accessories (jewelry, buttons, belts) created through traditional craftsmanship combined with modern technologies like 3D printing and digital design.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Costume Jewelry (Parure) Bespoke costume jewelry pieces manufactured for luxury fashion houses such as CHANEL. Production spans the entire creation chain from model-making and prototyping through metal casting, electroplating, glass bead making, complex assembly, and finishing, combining traditional savoir-faire with 3D design and additive manufacturing.
• Couture Buttons Bespoke buttons manufactured for luxury fashion houses using lost-wax casting for metal buttons, precision machining for shanks, and laser engraving. Buttons are finished through electroplating and assembly to client specifications for inclusion in couture and ready-to-wear collections.
• Leather Belts and Accessories Leather straps, belts, bandanas, scrunchies, and cuffs produced for luxury fashion collections using strap making, gathering, cutting into strips, interlacing, and stitching techniques, in coordination with the broader parure offering.

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Agnès Brisson-Personnaz (CHANEL)coreOthersPress contact for Desrues is Agnès Brisson-Personnaz, Responsible for Communication & Events Métiers d'Art at CHANEL, located at 13 rue Duphot, 75001 Paris. This indicates CHANEL maintains close communication oversight of Desrues as part of the Métiers d'Art network.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Van Cleef & Arpels: Van Cleef & Arpels is a Richemont-owned heritage luxury jewelry house. It is a broad incumbent in luxury jewelry (overlap on category and clientele) but operates as a branded retailer rather than a B2B craft supplier, hence not a direct peer.
• Boucheron: Boucheron is a Kering-owned Place Vendôme jeweler. It overlaps with Desrues in Parisian luxury jewelry heritage and couture clientele but competes as a finished-goods brand rather than as a B2B craft supplier.
• Dior Joaillerie: Dior Joaillerie is LVMH's in-house fine and costume jewelry division. It is both a customer-competitor (Dior sources accessories) and a branded finished-goods player, comparable on luxury jewelry category and heritage positioning but not on B2B craft model.

Direct peers

• Lemarié: Lemarié is the CHANEL-owned featherwork and camellia-flower maker in the Métiers d'Art network. It is directly comparable in structure (heritage atelier, acquired for craft preservation, supplying couture collections) even though its craft differs.
• Lesage: Lesage is a CHANEL-owned embroidery house within the Métiers d'Art network and the most analogous operating model: a heritage Parisian atelier, acquired to safeguard an endangered craft, serving the same luxury maisons with hand + machine hybrid production.
• Causse Glovemaker: Causse is the CHANEL-owned luxury glover (acquired 2012), part of the Métiers d'Art network. Same ownership, same B2B luxury model, same small-batch couture supply dynamics; comparable as a sister Métiers d'Art business unit.
• Montex: Montex is a CHANEL-owned embroidery house that, like Lesage, follows the same heritage-atelier-B2B model for luxury maisons. Direct peer on operating structure and customer base despite embroidery specialization.
• Maison Gripoix: Maison Gripoix is an independent Parisian costume-jewelry atelier famed for couture pieces using pâte de verre and glass cabochons. It is a direct, independent competitor serving couture houses, highly comparable on craft, product category, and customer profile.
• Goossens: Goossens is a CHANEL-owned Parisian goldsmith and costume jewelry maker, also part of the Métiers d'Art network. It is the closest direct peer: same parent, same customer set, same B2B model producing jewelry and metal accessories for couture collections.
• Massaro: Massaro is the CHANEL-owned shoemaker and part of the Métiers d'Art network. Highly comparable business model (heritage Parisian craft house, owned by CHANEL since 2002, B2B supplier to haute couture) though operating in footwear rather than jewelry.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/desrues-s.a.s.-parurier-de-l'exception
• Instagraminstagram.com/maisondesrues

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DESRUES