RED CARPET READY
Revolving around the theme “CHOPARD loves cinema”, Caroline Scheufele creates 75 stunning jewellery pieces that pay homage to great movies from the past, writes FLOREY D MIKIL
This year’s Red Carpet Collection by Chopard is nothing short of spectacular. Comprising necklaces, earrings, rings, jeweller y watches, brooches and bracelets, with the theme “Chopard loves cinema” weaved throughout, the collection pays tribute to f ilms that bear signif icant presence on the silver screen. Most notably, f ilmmaker Charlie Chaplin’s mark is felt in a majority of the Haute Joaillerie creations. Caroline Scheufele, co-president and artistic director of Chopard, explains why.
“Charlie Chaplin is pretty much the beginning of the world of cinema,” Scheufele speaks live from the 75th Cannes Film Festival, during a virtual session with media. “When I left Cannes last year, I was thinking about what was going to be next year’s scene and then I saw the entrance of the cinema and all these photographers and cameramen left and right, and I immediately said, ‘It’s cinema.’ So, the inspiration of this year’s collection is 75 iconic movies from the past, from all around the world, but obviously, the one that inspired it most is Charlie Chaplin.”
Scheufele’s admiration for the filmmaker inspired the standout brooch she dubs The Rose of Charlie. “It’s from the movie “City Lights”. This is the piece that inspired the whole collection,” she elaborates, adding that its monochromatic colour scheme nods to the black and white films of cinema’s early era. The articulated brooch
is in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-karat white gold and titanium set with white diamonds and black diamonds.
Rose also features on a choker necklace made of pink sapphire beads and diamonds, presented as a detachable brooch in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-karat white gold and titanium set with pink sapphires, tsavorites and diamonds, all brilliant-cut.
Some pieces are more unrestrained in their use of hues, such as the bead necklace featuring peridots, tsavorites and apatites, whose kaleidoscope of colours is further heightened by a pendant in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-karat white gold and titanium set with coloured sapphires, amethysts, sapphires, tsavorites, rubellites, mandarin garnets and spessartites.
Other standouts include a necklace composed of 10 rows of Akoya pearls set with diamonds and a 13-carat pear-shaped red spinel; a sun-inspired necklace in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-karat yellow and white gold set with diamonds, yellow-orange sapphires, yellow sapphires and orange sapphires; and a set of ring and earrings – shaped like the prow of a gondola and Venetian bridges – in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-karat white gold and titanium, the former adorned with an ovalshaped aquamarine and brilliant-cut diamonds, the latter with two pear-shaped aquamarines, two pearls, brilliantcut diamonds and sapphires.
Childhood wonders are not forgotten, making an appearance in the form of whimsical pieces, such as the pumpkin-shaped ring in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-karat white and rose gold, aluminium and titanium set with spessartites, tsavorites and diamonds, that opens up to reveal Cinderella’s glass (or diamond, in this case) slipper. Another creation sees diamond-studded Dalmatians perched atop a bracelet in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-karat white gold set with white diamonds, black diamonds and pink diamonds as well as cabochon-cut sapphires. There may not be 101 of the darling dogs, but the piece steals hearts all the same.