CHOPARD – Happy Diamonds Legacy
MEMORY OF A GOLDEN AGE
LEGACY
By overturning the codes of watchmaking and luxury jewelry in the mid-1970s, Chopard accompanied the changes of an era marked by the freedom of women and the liberalization of society. The Maison pays tribute to this victorious past that forged its identity.
FOREVER HAPPY SPORT
An explosion of colors and extravagance, a turning point, an icon and the watch most collected by women: Happy Sport is all this and so much more. The embodiment of Caroline Scheufele’s passion and joie de vivre, from their birth in the 90s to the present, Happy Sport models have epitomized a noble legacy of casual chic style in a kaleidoscope of more than 1,000 variations – each one infused with the spirit of Chopard’s Co-President and Artistic Director.
A powerful metaphor of the emancipatory momentum women experienced in the 20th century, the Happy Sport watch sealed Chopard’s place in contemporary watchmaking and continues to stage a fascinating and perpetually creative show in which women play a starring role. Happy Sport is forever.
“LITTLE DIAMONDS DO GREAT THINGS”
The creative soul of the Maison, Caroline Scheufele began shaping her brilliant destiny from childhood onwards. Born into a long line of watchmakers, she designed her first watch as a young girl, from pieces of aluminium foil. While still a teenager, she let her fertile imagination wander by designing a clown pendant with small dancing diamonds twirling inside its belly. Made in secret by the workshops on the initiative of Caroline Scheufele’s father, this clown was to be the first ever piece of Chopard jewelry. A joyful and playful creation, it quickly became the favorite gift of a generation of fathers to their beloved daughters, and the symbol of Chopard’s formidable jewelry adventure.
“DIAMONDS ARE HAPPIER WHEN THEY ARE FREE”
The history of Happy Diamonds is set against the backdrop of the profound transformation and cultural changes of the 1970s. Inspired by the lightness and freedom of the spray from a waterfall, the Chopard workshops decided to release diamonds from all settings for the very first time: a real upheaval in the world of watchmaking. “Diamonds are happier when they are free” exclaimed Caroline Scheufele’s mother when she first caught sight of these icons in the making. Conveying a universal message, Happy Diamonds reflected the spirit of the times: precious things should not be locked up! Free and liberated, they sparkled more brightly than ever – like the women who wore them.
FREE SPIRITED WOMEN
As soon as it was introduced, the kinetic energy spread by the Happy Sport distilled an aura of Joie de Vivre. Combining diamonds and steel turned watchmaking codes upside down, in step with those of modern society within which women were taking an unprecedented place. With more and more of them taking up positions of responsibility, their influence began steadily growing within the family as well as in business and politics. A new lifestyle was required for these heroines leading their lives in a free-spirited and independent way – and fashion had to adapt. Happy Sport was entirely in tune with this tendency. A key instigator of the sport-chic trend, it goes equally well with jeans and sneakers as with a little black dress and high heels – all of which helped it conquer catwalks, red carpets and women’s wrists!