Red carpets and fawn pendants: Chopard at the Cannes Film Festival

Caroline Scheufele on the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, Chopard’s new line of High jewellery, and why accessible pieces that encourage micro-splurges will be key

The Cannes Film Festival opened its 74th edition earlier this week. The first fully-fledged film festival to be held since the pandemic began, it not only rings in the revival of cinema, but also the red carpet — albeit, a smaller, sober and greener carpet. Leading the green charge is Chopard, the luxury jeweller behind some of the most iconic jewellery pieces on the French Riviera, as well as the design of the Palme d’Or award. “The story began in 1997,” says Caroline Scheufele, the artistic director and co-president of Chopard, over e-mail. “During a meeting with Pierre Viot [then president of the Cannes Festival], he invited me to redesign it for the 50th anniversary.” Given her love for cinema, she accepted the “fantastic challenge” and, as she recently shared with Variety, took the statue to her office in Geneva. The result: the Palme d’Or as it stands today — a piece of haute joaillerie in its own right, featuring the palm leaves motif (that represent the trees that line the famous Boulevard de la Croisette, as well as the Cannes coat-of-arms). The leaves, fashioned out of 118 grams of 18 carat gold, look like they’ve just been ruffled by a gentle breeze and are cushioned by a rock crystal in the form of an emerald-cut diamond. No two crystals are the same, which means that every trophy is one-of-a-kind.