Chopard's Happy Diamonds Turn 50, With Bella Hadid and Liu Wen Leading the Party
Half a century after Chopard first set diamonds free to dance behind glass, the house is celebrating with a new campaign, a New York exhibition and a special-edition Happy Sport.
In 1976, Chopard did something jewellers were not supposed to do. Instead of setting diamonds firmly in place, it let them move, floating freely between two sapphire crystals so they tumbled and caught the light with every turn of the wrist. The collection was called Happy Diamonds, and 50 years on it remains one of the most recognisable designs in fine jewellery.
A happy accident of a name
The story goes that the name came from Karin Scheufele, mother of Chopard co-president Caroline Scheufele. On seeing the prototypes, she declared that diamonds are happier when they are free. It captured the liberated spirit of the 1970s, and the idea has since spread from watches to pendants, earrings and rings, along with the sportier Happy Sport watch launched in 1993.
The anniversary
For the 50th, Chopard has cast ambassadors Bella Hadid and Liu Wen in a new campaign shot by photographer Greg Williams, with films directed by Manu Cossu. The house marked the occasion during New York Fashion Week with a party at Casa Cipriani and an exhibition at its Fifth Avenue boutique featuring archive Happy Diamonds and Happy Sport pieces, original sketches and five decades of history.
New pieces
Alongside new geometric Happy Diamonds pendants and the Happy Sport The First, Chopard unveiled a Happy Sport Joaillerie New York Special Edition: a 36mm watch in 18-carat ethical rose gold with 9.80 carats of Ashoka-cut diamonds around the bezel, pink diamonds on the dial and a tiny diamond-covered apple spelling out New York.
"Happy Diamonds have always represented a unique vision of joy and freedom," said Caroline Scheufele.
In Australia
The Happy Diamonds collection is available through Chopard boutiques and authorised retailers in Australia.
