In recent years, the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré has regained its letters of nobility with sublime illuminations and grandiose events. This revival, the famous street of the 8th arrondissement owes it to a man: Benjamin Cymerman.
In addition to wearing the hat of president of the Faubourg Saint-Honoré Committee, the forty-something from the capital is also co-director of the famous Maison Heurgon, which offers a sharp selection of the most beautiful brands of jewelry and fine watchmaking.
Since his creation in 1865, Heurgon has continued to develop. Benjamin's father took over the business in 1973. and if his son was off to a brilliant career as a lawyer, it turned out otherwise. It was in 2006 that Benjamin Cymerman puts a first foot in thefamily business and enthusiastically joins his brother Arnaud already in place.
Over the years, the duo opened several boutiques: one in 58 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, while the emblematic flagship of the royal street splits in two, Breitling for watchmaking et Marli for jewelry. After many changes, since 2015, Heurgon has specialized in jewelry, relegating the watchmaking part to the background.
For Paris Select, the businessman raise the veil!
Nathalie Freoa: The creation of the Heurgon House dates back to 1865. Has it always been rue Royale or was it all your creation?
Benjamin Cymerman: The shop previously belonged to the Salomon family. My father bought the business in 1973. .
NC: Heurgon's basic function was jewelry designer ?
BC: Yes, initially it was jewelry. In the family, we were not at all in this type of business. My dad worked in the diamond business and eventually got into it. Today, we have chosen to direct it more like a multi-brand jewelry.
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NC: You have evolved since very young in this universe?
BC: I trained in law, so nothing to do with the family business. My brother Arnaud entered the business in 2002. In 2006, he asked me to work with him. I wanted us to work together. A family feeling.
NC: Was it your brother who attracted you more than the activity itself?
BC: I worked for 2 years as a lawyer… a job that was a little less like me. When I saw what my brother was doing, I thought it was much nicer than the law firm! In jewelry, you support happy events et anything that pleases ! While in the legal profession, we are rarely in the good news. Commerce attracted me more than the legal world!
NC: Your brother Arnaud Cymerman studied business?
BC: Yes. He was a real will. I found working in our family business quite enjoyable. I always had this nice example to be continued. So, with my brother, we decided to create a shop at 25 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré…
NC: At the base you were at 25?
BC: We had the 15 rue Royale for watchmaking. In 2015 we took over the family business 100%, so we took over the shop on rue Royale and the one in Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
NC: Isn't it in the current store on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré?
BC: No, in 2019 just before the Covid, we had the opportunity to open a new store, larger in 58 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
We chose to focus on the multi-brand with the opening of a big flagship Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Heurgon is therefore a multi-brand with essentially jewelry and watchmaking. So we converted 15 rue Royale into two shops, Breitling and Marli.
NF : So you have three outlets today ?
BC : Yes. Opening of the flagship 58 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré in June 2021. Then in September 2021 opening of Breitling and Marli.
After a year and a half of repeated lockdowns, we were in a transition period. We were able to reinvent, while keeping our DNA.
The Flagship was made with Bernard Dubois, a great architect who has already designed flagships for prestigious brands and hotels… We were looking for a signature architect to create our setting. Take the opposite of what we were doing.
Bernard Dubois, interior of the store 58 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
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NF: You hired the illustrator Marc Antoine Coulon for the 1 year of your shop. What attracted you to his work?
BC : With my brother, we said to ourselves that for the 1 year olds, we wanted to do things a little differently. Our shop is on two floors with several artistic pieces. We always wanted to create this link between art and jewelry. When we met Marc Antoine, there was a real thunderbolt! Between the three of us, the collaboration went very well and we managed to challenge brands very loyal to their house image. That was the main difficulty.
Arnaud Cymerman, Marc Antoine Coulon, Benjamin Cymerman
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NF : The common thread was Marc-Antoine with his illustrations?
BC : Exactly ! We loved what he did in general and found him to be the best at bringing this project to fruition.
NF: We also have a lot of admiration for the work of Marc-Antoine Coulon. He also signs the covers and illustrations of our Paris Select guide. Did the fact that he works with the world of luxury seduce you?
BC : Yes. What pleased all three of us was to change a little from everyday life. We wanted to start from a product and find out how he was going to be able, from a personality, to create a portrait while making talk about the product first. It was a nice challenge.
Illustrations by Marc-Antoine Coulon
NF : This has largely distinguished you from other resellers, who are more showcases. This collaboration has brought an extra soul to the products.
BC : That's exactly how we want people to feel!
NF: Concerning your care of the chairman of the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré committee, can you tell us more?
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BC : Nine years ago, it was the manager of the Bristol, who was chairman of the committee. We were a small team thinking that we had there, with rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, a sleeping beauty. I was convinced that we had the most beautiful district of Paris. We had an incredible specificity here. All the trades are present and the concentration of brands is impressive. I wanted to contribute to develop the district's supreme prestige and luxury identity.
NF: Why is this neighborhood so unique?
BC: We are the only neighborhood to have both: beautiful brands, art galleries, Haute Horlogerie brands as well as jewelery, high-end leather goods, luxury hotels and even institutions… an incredible mix! It was a waste not to put the spotlight on this neighborhood more. With a team, we took over the committee. Basically for a year and a half but finally it's been 8 years! Today we are 121 members. So we went from 18 to 121 and the budget went from €60 to almost €000 million! We have created and organized many events to highlight the neighborhood.
NF: What is the next big event organized by the Comité Saint-Honoré?
BC: This year, we are changing format! We will do the biggest dinner in the world. A nomadic diner with a huge table ranging fromElysée to rue de Castiglione and Place Vendôme ! We invite our VIP clients, we will do lots of entertainment and a nice dinner. It's going to be a great time...
NF: On the project side, do you plan to open new stores?
BC: Yes, we have a new project… It should see the light of day in March or April. On the other hand, he will be in a new domain. It is a chocolate factory, rue du Cherche Midi !
NF : Tell us more?
BC : I had the opportunity to meet Christine Brua, pastry chef and chocolate maker at the Elysée for whom I had a real professional crush. She wanted to start a new project. We supported him. And it will be called, Madam Cocoa!
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NF : Obviously, nothing stops your thirst for launching into new adventures !
Paris Select will not fail to follow you in all these new projects…
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To know the favorite addresses of Benjamin Cymerman:
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