By Nick Remsen
Caroline Scheufele at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Every year, Chopard alights at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival with its Red Carpet Collection—a haute joaillerie unveiling of high-wattage extravagance and imagination in tandem. But this year, the 78-piece collection took on a more intimate, introspective tone. The 2025 Red Carpet Collection, Caroline’s Universe, is a visual dive into the personal fascinations, memories, and sensibilities of Chopard’s Co-President and Artistic Director, Caroline Scheufele.
“This is the most personal high jewelry collection I’ve ever unveiled,” says Scheufele. “The focus is my point of view and sensibility.” And that focus—playful, eclectic, sentimental—is evident in a number of design flourishes, from celestial panthers and opal-budded flower earrings to a ring modeled after her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Byron, who generally accompanies her to Cannes each year.
Flower earrings featuring two white opal cabochons and two heart-shaped pink sapphires, paved with pink, yellow, and orange sapphires, rubies and diamonds.
Scheufele began dreaming up “Caroline’s Universe” immediately after returning home from last year’s festival. In contrast to previous thematic collections—ranging from fairy tales to cinema—this one offers a layered portrait of the designer herself, rendered in bijoux. “Each piece of jewelry is a stage; each precious stone tells a story,” she says, “in which the art of jewelry reflects both my personal journey and universal emotion.”
Rose brooch in titanium and ethical 18-carat rose gold paved with rubies.
That story begins in her Lake Geneva garden, where Scheufele often sketches while surrounded by flora. Nature, particularly flowers, plays a prominent role in the collection: there’s a ruby-set rose brooch in ethically sourced rose gold, and statement earrings made of tinted titanium with white opal buds and colored sapphires—each petal articulated with realism. “When I can be amongst the colors and creations natural to the world, it brings me closer to my creative side,” Scheufele explains.
Owl pendant in ethical 18-carat yellow and rose gold, platinum and titanium featuring a 14.83-carat rubellite, cognac diamonds, blue and pink sapphires, a pear-shaped emerald, and onyx cabochons.
Animals, another passion, are also transformed into high jewelry proposals. Some may recall 2010’s “Animal World” collection, launched in honor of Chopard’s 150th anniversary, which featured 150 high jewelry Creatures in a celebratory proverbial Noah’s Ark.
Whimsy and wit are present throughout; these feel like Chopard signatures. A suited clown pendant—a nod to the very first piece Scheufele designed, as a teenager—recalls a childhood love of the circus. “My father put my first design into production and gifted it to me,” she says. “It was the start of my journey in the jewelry world.”
Snake necklace in ethical 18-carat white gold set with more than 87 carats of fancy-cut diamonds and pear-shaped emeralds.
And then, of course, there’s the cosmos. Long a motif in Chopard’s universe, pun intended, the celestial realm returns here with drama and elegance: a black diamond panther balances on a crescent moon dusted in white diamonds, while a coiled snake necklace of diamonds and emeralds nods to the Chinese zodiac. “Astrological and zodiac signs are always something that comes up in conversations with my friends,” Scheufele says. “It’s always top of mind.”
But there’s also a seriousness in the savoir-faire behind the sparkle. Chopard’s Geneva ateliers house more than 40 artisans—from model-makers to stone cutters to polishers—all of whom Scheufele works with closely. “Many of these artisans have been with us for many years,” she says. “We’ve developed a rhythm… they know what my expectations are.” Still, she reviews each major step of the process, ensuring the final result is not only a technical feat, but something that “is infused with emotions to reflect the essence of our maison.”
The floral-motif Jewelry watch featuring a lozenge-shaped portrait-cut diamond.
This year’s collection includes a number of showstoppers: a diamond-lace timepiece topped by a lozenge-shaped portrait-cut diamond in lieu of sapphire crystal; and a scalloped diamond-ribbon necklace crowned with a pink-purple tourmaline. These are the sort of creations destined for flashbulbs and film premieres; Cannes catnip, so to speak.
Heart ring in aluminum and ethical 18-carat white gold, set with heart-, pear-, and brilliant-cut rubies.
Having such a presence at Cannes is a fitting evolution of Scheufele’s long love affair with cinema. It was her passion for film that led her to Cannes 27 years ago, when she first designed the Palme d’Or trophy. That gesture marked the beginning of a powerful partnership between Chopard and the festival. “From the outset, I wanted the Red Carpet Collection to have as many pieces of jewelry as the number of years the Festival has been in existence,” she says. That commitment has grown over time—most notably through the Trophée Chopard, awarded annually to rising silver-screen stars.
“Often when designing a new creation, I like to picture the actress who might wear it,” Scheufele reveals. “I think about their personality… their way of being.” While she keeps many muses secret, she singles out Bella Hadid as an avatar of the Chopard spirit—elegant yet daring, able to “give our jewelry an exciting extra edge.”
All images Courtesy of Chopard.
