For 12 days in May, the red carpets of this year’s Cannes Film Festival were all set aglitter. Adding to the beam of celebrities’ megawatt smiles was the jewellery that they wore. Chopard, official partner of the festival, presented its annual Red Carpet Collection with 78 high jewellery creations, spanning necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets and watches.
Titled “Caroline’s Universe”, the collection dives deep into the personal world of Chopard’s artistic director and co-president, Caroline Scheufele, focusing on the things that inspire her, from flora and fauna to the cosmos.
As has been the case since its inaugural iteration in 2007, the number of pieces in this year’s Red Carpet Collection reflects the number of years the Cannes Film Festival has been around. This, Scheufele says, has been the intention “from the outset”.
Chopard first partnered up with the festival in 1998. Since then, the maison has manufactured the Palme d’Or, the festival’s highest prize, awarded to the director of the best feature film.
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“This collection is designed for actresses to sparkle as they climb the famous steps, thereby honouring Chopard’s reputation as the red carpet jeweller,” says Scheufele of the Red Carpet Collection.
The pieces were crafted in Chopard’s haute joaillerie ateliers in Geneva, where a total of more than 40 model-makers, stone cutters, jewellers, gemsetters and polishers work. Describing each creation as a “stage”, Scheufele says the precious stones used tell “a story in which the art of jewellery reflects both [her] personal journey and universal emotion”.
Wild and free
In 2010, Chopard celebrated its 150th anniversary with the 150-piece “Animal World” high jewellery collection. An animal lover through and through, Scheufele has created several pieces in “Caroline’s Universe” that pay homage to the fauna of the world.
Among these are two rings composed of black, white and cognac diamonds, modelled after her Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Byron. Other lifelike pieces include rings inspired by the dolphin, red panda, peacock and even a set, comprising a ring and pair of earrings, that takes after the colourful scarlet macaw.
Plants also play a significant role in “Caroline’s Universe”, particularly flowers. A hyperrealistic rose is fashioned out of rose gold, set with rubies totalling a staggering 54.83 carats. There’s also a pair of white gold earrings with blooms crafted from pear-cut and brilliant-cut diamonds.
At the heart of it
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“If I were to associate Chopard with a symbol, I would choose the heart,” says Scheufele, “because there is a family behind it.” Hearts are a mainstay in the maison’s creations, seen in pieces across its collections, most notably the “Happy Hearts” range.
In “Caroline’s Universe”, hearts are interpreted as, for instance, a pair of dazzling white gold and diamond earrings. A trio — comprising a brooch, earrings and necklace — sees pink sapphire briolettes and brilliant-cut diamonds, set openworked in white gold to let light through.
Gems in focus
Scheufele developed her love for jewellery at a young age, having inherited a keen eye for precious stones from her mother.
Top-quality, unique gemstones with a story have thus come to form a focal point for Chopard, not least with the maison’s acquisition of the Insofu emerald, a 6,225-carat rough stone that served as the basis for the Insofu high jewellery collection unveiled earlier this year.
This year’s Red Carpet Collection continues this focus on special gemstones. One standout piece has a breathtaking 129-carat emerald cabochon framed by pear-cut and brilliant-cut diamonds in white gold.
Out of this world
Given the name of the collection, it’s only apt that Scheufele also looked to the cosmos for “Caroline’s Universe”, capturing the inky blacks of space alongside the glint of stars across numerous pieces in the collection.
For the pendant of a necklace, a panther in black diamond lies atop a crescent moon of white diamonds. The crescent moon motif continues in another necklace and matching pair of earrings, all rendered in marquise-cut diamonds and rose gold.
