Chopard unveils the first creations in a shimmering collection for the red carpet in 2018

Partnering the Cannes Festival for 20 years, the Maison annually crafts the legendary Palme d’or, made from Fairmined-certified ethical gold.  While the High Jewellery ateliers are hard at work on these unique works of art, Caroline Scheufele – the woman who inspired them – announces an edition brimming with surprises.

Every year since 2007, Chopard Co-President and Creative Director Caroline Scheufele has been imagining a High Jewellery collection taking up the extraordinary challenge of releasing a number of jewellery models equivalent to the edition number of the Festival. Stemming from her boundless imagination and from the peerless mastery of diverse skills within the Chopard workshops, a complete collection of 71 creations will be rolled out this year, dedicated to the world’s greatest actresses for their red carpet appearances.

This year, the Chopard Red Carpet Collection is inspired by the many travels and dreams of its creator. Year in and year out – like the members of her family who used to crisscross the globe with trunks full of precious merchandise, journeying as far as the court of the Tsar of Russia – she tirelessly tours the many countries in which the family Maison’s creations are present. These peregrinations are a perpetual source of inspiration for Caroline Scheufele, who jots down and sketches her impressions in her travel diaries. With the Red Carpet Collection, she invites us into the secret world of her reveries and personal intuitions, offering a delightful, generous and mysterious revelation. She is inspired by anything and everything: architecture, art, literature and cinema. A tiny detail is enough for this fervent gem lover to dream up the most splendid – and above all most ingenious – adornments. Nature also remains a powerful source of fascination for her creative mind.

In an intriguing sneak peek, Caroline Scheufele agrees to remove three creations from this original collection from their precious jewel boxes. The first source of wonderment is an imposing bracelet composed of several rows of facetted tanzanite balls and a central motif dominated by a majestic, iridescent and mysterious black opal. A subtle touch slides the opal to reveal its secret: a finely wrought watch dial opening a window onto an oriental sky worthy of the finest Chinese lacquers, crafted from pink mother-of-pearl and chalcedony.

Secret watch in 18ct white gold and titanium featuring a black opal of 72cts and set with carved jadeite, turquoises, onyx, pear-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds, brilliant-cut emeralds and brilliant-cut tanzanites. Dial set with pink mother-of-pearl and chalcedony. Bracelet composed of tanzanite beads for a total of 235cts.

Pursuing the oriental dreams of Chopard’s Creative Director, a choker provides another vivid foretaste of this richly creative collection. Gently held by rows of facetted tanzanite balls, a central red-tinted titanium motif plays with a fascinating aquamarine, inviting observers to immerse themselves in its blue-tinged shimmer.

Necklace in 18ct white gold and titanium, composed of tanzanite beads for a total of 459cts, and set with a pear-shaped aquamarine of 12.4cts, one golden pearl of 12.7cts, pear-shaped aquamarines, pear-shaped tanzanites, pear-shaped tsavorites, brilliant-cut and marquise-cut pink sapphires, brilliant-cut spessartine garnets, brilliant-cut and marquise-cut diamonds and brilliant-cut yellow sapphires.

The final concession to our curiosity, before the big reveal of these treasures, is a choker necklace for which Caroline Scheufele drew inspiration from the Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, and the amazing clothes worn by 1920s women. This gorgeous white diamond lacework necklace features tumbling cascades of brown and cognac-coloured diamonds. Ample proof, if any were needed, that great classics never die.

A keen film enthusiast, Caroline Scheufele has transformed her own love story with film-making into an ongoing, over 20-year partnership with the Cannes International Film Festival. The Palme d’or – which she personally redesigned and is crafted in the Chopard workshops from Fairmined-certified ethical gold - is the dazzling symbol of this sparkling pairing. Eager to support the world of cinema and to promote its youthful talents, Chopard also awards a prodigious annual prize to a promising young actor and actress: the Trophée Chopard. While the workshops of the Maison are hard at work on giving life to a new range of contemporary design wonders, and the Trophée Chopard jury is commencing its deliberations, Caroline Scheufele – who is never short on ideas – is secretly preparing a series of new surprises that will ensure Chopard continues to shine on La Croisette. 

www.chopard.com