In an exclusive interview with MEGA, Coralie Charriol shares what it’s like to be a thrill-seeking creative and businesswoman as she leads Charriol forward
For the longest time, women were seen as the ones there to just lend a helping hand, to sit pretty and wait for further instructions—but not Coralie Charriol. The longtime Creative Director and now also the Executive Chairwoman and CEO of Charriol is a strong force of nature that has proven time and time again how a woman like her can attack a variety of things head on and accomplish everything she sets her mind to.
We recently had the pleasure of chatting with the power woman herself, who gave us the inside scoop on her continuous and enjoyable journey with the brand whose DNA also rushes through her veins—a brand that, just like its pieces, has continued to stand the test of time after being founded by her late father, Philippe Charriol, in 1983.
The responsible daughter
Ever since her father’s untimely passing, the highest seat in the family-owned business has had Coralie sitting on it. After being Charriol’s Creative Director for two decades, she took on the position of Executive Chairwoman and CEO in 2019, leading the brand to move forward and be even more formidable than ever. According to Coralie, “[It’s] in my blood. My father sadly passed away 3 years ago and that’s when I became CEO and the head of the brand. You’re never prepared when that happens, plus there was covid, so it was a tough three years, I must say. Huge adjustment, but now I feel like we’re on the other side of the tunnel and it’s looking positive.”
The brand CEO
With her relatively new role, Coralie considers it as a fun challenge because she believes that anything new is fun. “When you’re kind of an old hat, and then all of a sudden something’s new, you’re like, ‘Okay, the energy’s back, the adrenaline’s there’—and I like adrenaline.”
We also asked what her ultimate goal is and how she plans on attaining it. She jokingly responded by singing, “Que sera, sera. [Whatever] will be, will be,” before mentioning that dealing with the loss of Charriol’s founder and trying to survive the pandemic were the two biggest things they had to overcome when she became CEO of the brand her family built. But now, she said, “Finally, I can look forward and concentrate, and see the future of Charriol.”
The philanthropic businesswoman
Apart from being a self-proclaimed creative, which led to her becoming Creative Director all those years ago, Coralie also has business on her mind. She has been reestablishing the fact that they were first and foremost a watchmaker, but she is also aware that making a tech watch is not for them. However, Coralie was still smart enough to work their way around it by using their Celtic strap for the popular Apple Watch. They didn’t know if it would work then, but now, their straps are even sold-out worldwide. “You don’t even have to see the head of the watch to know that it’s Charriol—that’s one of our strongest selling points.”
Coralie also walked us through her more personal additions to the brand. “Every International Women’s Day, I choose three women of substance that I work with, and Izadora was my first choice.” This was what she said when sharing the story behind the Izadora Bangle, which is a collaboration between Charriol and actress Iza Calzado. “A portion of those sales will go to a charity that she chose, and she chose one [supporting the awareness of] mental health.”
Apart from inviting empowered women to empower others, Coralie also joins in on the philanthropic projects of the brand through the Forever Animals collection wherein they design one of the Forever bangles with a different animal every year, and a portion of the proceeds goes to the conservation of the habitat. Not only that, but she also promotes issue-based documentaries while helping filmmakers raise funds for them to be able to finish their films through her own organization called REACT to FILM. In a closing statement, Coralie said, “It’s a passion project—that’s something that I won’t give up.”
Through all of her ventures as a creative, businesswoman, and philanthropist, it goes without saying that Coralie Charriol, an empowered woman herself, is truly a force to be reckoned with.
Photography KIERAN PUNAY (Coralie Charriol)
Photos from CHARRIOL (Iza Calzado for the Izadora Bangle)
