THE STYLE LIST
Chopard’s Happy Diamonds; JaegerLeCoultre’s four-faced Reverso; the wonderful world of Akillis; and how Dubai became a diamond hub
Julia Roberts, the face of Chopard’s new Happy Diamonds campaign, has a few failsafe tips for achieving happiness: “Be kind to others; surround yourself with loving, kind, compassionate people; kissing, followed by dancing as a close second.” And the one thing that makes her instantly happy? “The sunrise.”
The new campaign draws on Roberts’s most famous attribute – her smile. A short film by director Xavier Dolan captures the jubilant, free-spinning diamonds that are a Chopard signature, alongside the free-spirited charm and positive energy that has made Roberts one of the world’s most-loved stars. Photographer Shayne Laverdière, meanwhile, captured the stills for the new campaign.
“Chopard just represents this timeless idea of elegance and sparkle and being ladylike,” says Roberts. “You kind of think: ‘When I grow up I want to be having a great time and wearing watches and earrings by Chopard… and now look at me, I’m all grown up!’”
The idea of the free-spirited woman lies at the heart of the campaign. For the American actress, this means: “Being comfortable in your convictions and sharing your convictions with those around you. Not all women have those liberties and I am very grateful that I have them.”
Chopard’s Happy Sport watch was created in 1993 – an alliance between steel and diamonds that was at once feminine and playful. At the time, Caroline Scheufele, Chopard’s co-president and artistic director, explained: “I wanted a watch that I could wear all day long – at the gym, in the office or for a dinner in town.”
For 2021, the brand is presenting two limited-edition re-releases of the first watch in the Happy Sport collection. They pay homage to the watch’s diamond and pebble-link bracelet design, with a new case in anti-allergenic Lucent Steel A223, redesigned in a 33 millimetre case inspired by the principles of the golden ratio. This sense of proportion is vital – the Happy Sport is designed to accompany women through their day and, above all, feel pleasant to wear.
The 1,993-piece Happy Sport the First limitededition pays tribute to the year the watch was created, while a second variation, produced in a run of 788 (a lucky number for Scheufele), is also graced with a diamond-set bezel and a textured mother-of-pearl dial. Encased within is a Chopard 09.01-C movement, with automatic winding and a 42-hour power reserve.
The round case of the Happy Sport watch is adorned with an understated silver-toned dial punctuated by hour-markers in a shimmering shade of blue, echoing the five cabochon-cut sapphires set into the lugs and crown. Seven “dancing diamonds” appear between the two sapphire crystals topping the dial, in a technical feat that only a few artisans can achieve.
“Diamonds are happier when they are free,” said Scheufele’s mother when she saw the novel prototype in 1976.
Roberts agrees. “There is something about having a watch and every time you look at it seeing all these sparkling diamonds whirling around,” she says. “It’s pretty awesome.”