Style Edit: How Chopard elevates high jewellery, from using ‘ethical’ gold to the celeb-approved Red Carpet collection, worn by Mariah Carey and Julia Roberts

You may know Chopard as a purveyor of show-stopping stones and one-of-a-kind diamonds but the Swiss maison, founded in 1860, originated as a watchmaker and only started making jewellery in the 1980s. It was then that a teenage Caroline Scheufele, today the artistic director and co-president of Chopard, began to get involved in the company that her parents Karl and Karin Scheufele had acquired in 1963, as she explains in an interview on a recent trip to Hong Kong. One day she drew a little clown, which her father took to the workshop as a new design concept – and not only a surprise gift for the future designer and heir. “Then I was wearing it, and as a family business we often had clients for lunch or dinner and they saw it,” she remembers. “Then one day I went to the workshop, which I used to love to visit after school, and saw these jewellery clowns and my dad said, ‘It’s a commercial piece, you will see’.” Little did she know that what started as a teenager’s whim would turn into a huge part of the business, from high jewellery creations gracing the red carpet to accessible collections such as the My Happy Hearts range – another of her designs, which has gone on to become a Chopard signature. Scheufele recalls how one day she was sitting in a “boring” board meeting and while doodling on a piece of paper, she came up with the idea for My Happy Hearts. “We made long chains with empty hearts and I thought of filling them with colours, so that’s how it happened,” she says. “When you launch a boutique line there are parameters like price limits, competition and something that has to appeal to the younger generation so it’s not just like working with rare and beautiful stones.” 4 contemporary jewellers pumping fresh blood into heart motifs While Scheufele is able to give free rein to her creativity when designing the stunning high jewellery creations that the brand showcases every year at the Cannes Film Festival and other events around the world, she also enjoys making items that have a wider audience and that ultimately drive the business. The brand’s Red Carpet Collection, however, is what creates the dream. We’re talking about extremely rare pieces that will be worn by some of the most beautiful stars in the world – from Julia Roberts to Mariah Carey – and then acquired by in-the-know collectors drawn to them for their craftsmanship and creative spirit. Scheufele unveiled the latest Red Carpet Collection in May at the Cannes Film Festival – Chopard has been a partner of the event for more than 25 years and is the maker of the coveted Palme d’Or prize – but while the brand would usually team up with couturiers such as Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad to pair its jewellery with their gowns, Scheufele also designed the garments for the most recent unveiling. “I kept thinking that you have these important jewellery pieces, some of them worth up to five million dollars, but the dresses didn’t go with them,” she says. “They were overwhelming or there wasn’t harmony – it wasn’t the right silhouette or it wasn’t paying tribute to the woman because it wasn’t cut the right way so I was sitting down watching my own show with a critical eye.” 5 new lifestyle finds that capture the wonder of nature Scheufele worked with a company that makes some of the most lavish and intricate embroidery for top European fashion houses and is staffed by women in India. She had been wearing their creations so it made sense for her to partner with them and support their work. While Scheufele has plans for more couture collections, Chopard won’t be following the fashion calendar, which Scheufele believes “is killing the brands and putting them under so much stress”. “We have the freedom in the watch and jewellery business to show something when the market needs it or when we have a new idea, but in the fashion industry it’s completely different. You have cruise collections, couture collections, ready-to-wear, Milan and Paris,” she says. “The consumer would rather have a special piece with a bit of creation that is timeless, like a beautiful little black dress that can be your travel companion or a pair of jeans that you can dress up or down with a jacket, boots or high heels.” She approaches her couture line in the same way she designs jewellery: pieces meant to last a lifetime and to be passed down from generation to generation. She believes that consuming less but better “should be the way forward for the luxury industry in general”. “Sometimes I clean up my closet and give to charity but then I find some pieces like cashmere pullovers that I’ve had forever and they’re still good so why throw them away?” she says. “The fashion industry is the second biggest polluting industry on the planet and many people are not aware of that.” Chopard has been a pioneer when it comes to sustainability, which the watch and jewellery industry was late to embrace. Back in 2013, when asked where Chopard sourced its gold, Scheufele was stumped by the question and admits to feeling “stupid” not knowing the origins of a raw material so important to the company. Chopard has come a long way since then. It has been using 100% “ethical gold” in its jewellery and watch creations since 2018. At the Watches & Wonders fair in Geneva in March, Scheufele and her brother Karl-Friedrich, co-president of Chopard, announced their commitment to using 80% recycled steel in all steel watches. A-listers show how to mix costume and high jewellery “When we started, everyone was saying, ‘Let them do it’, and now most of our competitors are going down the same road and I’m happy about that. That was the purpose,” she says. “It should be automatic, especially in the luxury business, where everything needs to be well made and transparent. You want to know how your pieces are produced and by whom. Scheufele says that back in 2013 when she brought up the idea of ethical gold to her parents and the rest of the Chopard team, they were a bit hesitant but after a series of meetings and lots of convincing, they all realised that it was the right thing to do. “They were worried about how much it was going to cost,” she says. “It was 5-10% more expensive because we guarantee the salaries and a fair supply chain and how the gold is extracted.” She says the extra cost was absorbed by the company and not passed on to the consumers. “We we had to change the way of working, especially in the beginning, and now the cost is lower.” How does Selling Sunset star Emma Hernan make and spend her millions? Scheufele agrees that as a family-owned company, Chopard had an advantage when it comes to making such radical changes and shaking up the industry, something that would be more difficult if it were part of a luxury conglomerate. While she doesn’t rule out a possible acquisition, she and her family are happy with the way things are. “We are still very independent but you should never say never and you don’t know what the future will bring,” she says. “Right now we are very happy with our freedom and to be responsible for our own actions. There are pros and cons but as of now we’re happy to work like that.” A lover of cinema, which is evident from Chopard’s deep involvement in the film world, from Cannes to Hollywood and beyond, Scheufele likes to unwind from her busy, globe-trotting schedule with a good film. “I’ve always been passionate about cinema and I love seeing movies at the theatre and not sitting at home watching while the phone is ringing,” she says. “There is nothing like being in a theatre for two hours and being transported into another world and forgetting about everything else.”