Cannes – carats, couture and Caroline

Cannes – carats, couture and Caroline

By Nina Hald

With actor Tom Cruise being presented with an honorary Palme d’Or and six minutes of standing ovations for his much anticipated (and pandemic premiere-delayed) film “Top Gun: Maverick” on Wednesday May 18^th, the Cannes Film Festival is up and running at full speed again. ICA has interviewed Chopard’s co-president and artistic director, Caroline Scheufele, about her love of colored gemstones.

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For the past 25 years, Chopard has dominated the Cannes Film Festival as official partner, purveyor of the prestigious Palme d’Or’ trophy, and preferred supplier of precious jewelry to attending Hollywood actresses and other A-listers.

“For me, it is more than enthusiasm: I am fascinated by colored gems! They inspire me strongly; they speak to me! And truly, all colored stones have stories to tell. Mixing colored gemstones with colorless diamonds simply magnify the gems’ wonderful saturations”, says Caroline Scheufele one busy afternoon, before that evenings’ first mounting of the steps to the Festival Palace.

_{Image 3: Akoya cultured pearl necklace set with diamonds and a 13-carat pear-shaped red spinel.}

_{Ring in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold and titanium set with a 57.55-carat oval-shaped aquamarine and brilliant-cut diamonds (3.45 carats).  - Federal-Studio}

_{Image 4: Bead necklace featuring peridots (263 carats), tsavorites (135 carats) and apatites (130.40 carats) adorned with a pendant in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold and titanium set with colored sapphires (19.37 carats), amethysts (15.98 carats), sapphires (10.87 carats), tsavorites (6.35 carats), rubellites (3.76 carats), mandarin garnets (2.18 carats) and spessartites (2.02 carats). - Federal-Studio}

_{Image 5: Earrings in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold set with two unheated cushion-shaped cornflower-blue 17.16 and 15.85-carat sapphires, an internally flawless D-grade oval-shaped 3.03-carat diamond, a D-grade oval-shaped 3.19-carat diamond with VVS1 clarity, two fancy intense purple pink 0.71 and 0.68-carat diamonds, two 0.66 and 0.54-carat fancy blue diamonds and brilliant-cut diamonds (1.57 carat).• Earrings in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold set with two unheated cushion-shaped cornflower-blue 17.16 and 15.85-carat sapphires, an internally flawless D-grade oval-shaped 3.03-carat diamond, a D-grade oval-shaped 3.19-carat diamond with VVS1 clarity, two fancy intense purple pink 0.71 and 0.68-carat diamonds, two 0.66 and 0.54-carat fancy blue diamonds and brilliant-cut diamonds (1.57 carat).}

_{Ring in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold set with a 20.40-carat unheated cushion-shaped vivid blue sapphire and with diamonds (2.84 carats). - Federal-Studio}

The Swiss company’s use of colored gemstone is unique, always invntive and bold; a large range of colors is presented in as many cuts as Caroline Scheufele can source – from the traditional squares, round, oval and to the more original shapes.

“For the past years, we have worked a lot of with tanzanites – a particular favorite of mine, as I love the color range from blue to purple. In 2018, we created an extraordinary necklace featuring a 34.63-carat triangle cut Paraíba tourmaline from Mozambique, the first responsibly sourced Paraíba. In 2020, we presented a beautiful Clover necklace, designed as a meadow of jeweled flowers in tsavorites, pink sapphires, moonstones and green tourmalines”, says Caroline Scheufele. “As our clientele has an expressed interest in many gemstones, we get to work with a large palette of various colors. Using titanium in a lot of high jewelry pieces, we can also give the metal the exact same colors as the gems, thereby further highlighting them”, she says.

_{Image 6: Jewelry watch in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold, entirely set with diamonds (41.84 carats) and emeralds (23.89 carats).}

_{Image 7: Jewelry watch in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white ethical gold, entirely set with diamonds (27.21 carats) and rubies (8.40 carats).}

_{Image 8: Jewelry watch in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold, entirely set with diamonds (32.82 carats) and multi-colored sapphires (17.48 carats).}

 This year’s Chopard Red Carpet collection, comprised of 75 high jewellery creations, has been freely inspired by films that have had a lasting impact on Caroline Scheufele, her zest for life and eclectic tastes. The grand adventures of cinema – from its earliest black-and-white days to its dizzying contemporary colors of action films – have been imagined in gorgeous gemstones of all colors.

Roses are a recurring theme, as for example the detachable brooch on a choker composed of pink sapphire beads; a rose ring is graced with exquisitely sculpted petals covered in pink sapphires protecting a two-carat diamond at the heart of the flower; and a black-and-white rose brooch. A magnificent sun brooch made of yellow diamonds and yellow and orange sapphires are arranged in a magnificent monochrome effect.

_{Image 9: Ring in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold, titanium and aluminum, set with a 2-carat round-cut diamond, rubies (4.70 carats), pink sapphires (3.13 carats) and diamonds (0.56 carat).}

_{Image 10: Ring in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold set with a 4.40-carat round-cut emerald and diamonds (4.04 carats).}

_{Image 11: Ring in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold and titanium set with a 57.55-carat oval-shaped aquamarine and brilliant-cut diamonds (3.45 carats).}

_{Image 12: Ring in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white and rose gold, aluminum and titanium, set with spessartites (13.64 carats), tsavorites (3.23 carats) and diamonds (0.49 carat).}

_{Image 13: Ring in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold set with a 20.40-carat unheated cushion-shaped vivid blue sapphire and with diamonds (2.84 carats).}

As a testament to the Chopard Red Carpet collection’s selection of high-quality gems was a pair of earrings set with two superb 17.16 and 15.85-carat unheated cornflower blue sapphires, but even this glorious blue match was surpassed by the Red Carpet necklace worn by Caroline Scheufele on the first evening of the festival: Made of Fairmined-certified 18 carat white gold, the necklace featured a 60.03-carat blue heart-shaped sapphire (and 116.52-carats of diamonds).Because a tribute to the cinema would not be complete without references to wonderful childhood fairytales, endlessly revisited on-screen, Caroline Scheufele has dreamed up a pumpkin ring set with spessartite garnets and tsavorites. It opens to reveal Cinderella’s diamond-set slipper. Its whimsical look was accompanied by a set comprised of aquamarine and diamond rings and earrings shaped like the prow of a gondola and Venetian bridges – making sure the rest of us would be happy to float away on the colored gems as seen at Chopard.   

_{Image 14: Earrings in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold set with two unheated cushion-shaped cornflower-blue 17.16 and 15.85-carat sapphires, an internally flawless D-grade oval-shaped 3.03-carat diamond, a D-grade oval-shaped 3.19-carat diamond with VVS1 clarity, two fancy intense purple pink 0.71 and 0.68-carat diamonds, two 0.66 and 0.54-carat fancy blue diamonds and brilliant-cut diamonds (1.57 carat).}

_{Image 15: Earrings in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold set with a grey spinel (8.20 carats), a pink spinel (7.87 carats), an orange spinel (3.45 carats) and a green spinel (2.82 carats), all oval-shaped; as well as pear-shaped and marquise-cut diamonds (5.28 carats).}

_{Image 16: Earrings in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold and titanium set with two pear-shaped aquamarines, two cultured pearls, brilliant-cut diamonds and sapphires.}

_{Image 17: Earrings in Fairmined-certified ethical 18-carat white gold and titanium set with cabochon-cut emeralds (6.95 carats), turquoises (27.52 carats), moonstones (45 carats), amazonite (30.80 carats), agate (30.80 carats), tsavorites (15.95 carats), chrysoprase (6.24 carats), jadeite (4.76 carats), emeralds (1.84 carats), chalcedony (1.44 carats) and Paraiba tourmalines (0.77 carat).}

Carats & Couture

For 25 years, Chopard has been the ultimate red-carpet jeweler for famous actresses, who have chosen its creations to enhance their appearances during the legendary ascent of the steps. From photocalls to the stage, Andie MacDowell, Uma Thurman, Sharon Stone and Julia Roberts among others have been adorned with Chopard, leaving a unique bejeweled imprint on iconic images from the Cannes Film Festival.

• Elle Fanning in Chopard in 2019 - Stéphane Kossmann
• Jane Fonda in Chopard in 2018 - Stéphane Kossmann
• Julia Roberts in Chopard in 2016 - Getty
• Uma Thurman in Chopard in 2011 - Getty
• Sharon Stone in Chopard in 2002 - Stéphane Kossmann
• Andie MacDowell in Chopard in 2001 - Stéphane Kossmann

Tickled pink

This year’s winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or will probably be tickled pink when receiving the trophy:  Chopard celebrates the 75^th edition of the Cannes Festival – coinciding with the 25^th anniversary of its partnership – with a very special edition of the film award. The Palme d'Or – of which two tiny leaves will be diamond-set from suppliers certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council – have been placed on a rose quartz base. One trophy is graced with 75 diamonds symbolizing the festival’s jubilee; the other features 25 diamonds to immortalize the quarter-century of the partnership with Chopard. The rose quartz base symbolizes the unconditional love binding the festival with cinema – and Chopard.

          The Palme d'Or_Sketch                                                               After polishing (on the original sketch)