Delicate as Lace

Luminous, light-as-air and luxuriantly wearable, the jewels in Chopard’s Precious Lace Collection mimic the patterns of fine lace itself in four captivating designs, as their gold edges furl and unfurl to reveal diamonds – the perfect marriage of Haute Couture and Haute Joaillerie.

Lifestyle Insider Chopard Cœur pendant in ethical 18 kt rose gold set with pear-shaped, heart-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds - totalling 3.9cts

The name Chopard is synonymous with luxurious, radiant jewels made even today the traditional way, and has become synonymous with Hollywood stars who have shone in its pieces on the red carpet.

Lifestyle Insider Chopard Precious Lace - Making Of the heart pendant

And with its intricate all-diamond jewels, the season’s new Precious Lace Collection by Chopard is a contemporary classic of today’s jewellery world. Instantly recognizable as the Maison’s stylistic signature, this jewellery line is light, lyrical, and supremely feminine, as well as unmistakably Chopard in its effortless design and mastery of craft skills.

Lifestyle Insider Chopard Mini-Froufrou ring in ethical 18 kt white gold set with pear-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds - totalling 1.04ct.

The collection, inspired by the lightness and whiteness of lace, plays with light and space, weaving diamonds and gold together in fluid, intricate openwork. The result is a fascinating dialogue between strength and fragility, substance and delicacy; between the eternal brilliance of the diamond and the ethereal weightlessness of a lace-like jewel floating over the skin, hovering between Haute Couture and Haute Joaillerie. A jewel that moves in harmony with the body, a sensual and silky second skin fully reflecting the values of France’s Fédération de la Haute Couture of which Chopard is a “jeweller” member.

Lifestyle Insider Chopard Precious Lace heart pendant being made by hand

A new vision of Haute Joaillerie

Now, with a new series of light and lively jewels within the Precious Lace Collection, Chopard makes the preciousness of diamonds and the luxury of lace more accessible and wearable. These are personal gem-set jewellery treasures for every day, every occasion and every woman. Like the collection itself, and its modern take on classicism, this talent for breaking down barriers between Haute and Fine jewellery, thereby dismantling the formality of Haute Joaillerie, is a powerful Chopard signature.

Lifestyle Insider Chopard Vague ring in ethical 18 kt white gold

Caroline Scheufele, Chopard’s Co-President and energetic Artistic Director, has always understood and anticipated what women want in their jewels, and how they want to wear them. She has championed their causes, creating audacious, glamorous jewels that reflect their multifaceted lives as well as illuminating their lifestyles, fashions and values. She works tirelessly to make precious jewellery exciting, expressive and most of all relevant today. Ever since she took the creative helm at the Family Maison in the 1980s, she has pushed boundaries, challenging existing conventions and infusing Haute Joaillerie with a fresh elegance characterized by effortless exuberance. In doing so, she gives new meaning to the precious nature of jewellery that women want to keep close to them at all times. Through her pioneering sustainable luxury initiatives, Caroline Scheufele defends the planet, its resources – in terms of gold and gems – as well as human beings themselves. In 2018, Chopard was the first luxury watch and jewellery manufacturer to commit to using 100 percent ethical gold.

Lifestyle Insider Chopard Nuage ring in ethical 18 kt gold set with pear-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds - totalling 2.67cts

Ethics meets aesthetics

With the new Precious Lace jewels, all hand-crafted in Chopard’s Haute Joaillerie ateliers using ethical gold and diamonds sourced from Responsible Jewellery Council certified members, Chopard brings that vision to life, disseminating the beauty, classicism, and craftsmanship of Haute Joaillerie, translating its refinement into appealingly wearable, charismatically feminine jewels.

Lifestyle Insider Chopard Nuage necklace in ethical 18 kt white gold set with pear-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds - totalling 1.88ct

The designs echo the floral patterns, scrolls, swirls and scalloped edges of fine antique lace. The central design feature of the Precious Lace Collection – a rhythmic, undulating gold and diamond-set curl enclosing an unfurling line of pear-shaped diamonds – is now presented in miniaturized form through four designs.

Lifestyle Insider Chopard Nuage earrings in ethical 18 kt white gold set with pear-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds - totalling 3.77cts

The first is a “Vague” (Wave) motif whose proportions evoke foaming sea billows and is interpreted as a pair of earrings, a pendant and a ring. The stylised flower pattern named “Mini-Froufrou”, with its scalloped borders and pear-shaped diamond petals on an airy openwork background, adorns a ring, earrings, pendant and bangle. A semi-circular floret in a similar style becomes a “Nuage” (Cloud) pendant, neck chain, earrings and ring. Lastly, Chopard gives its iconic “Cœur” (Heart) pendant the Precious Lace treatment, in a choice of two sizes.

Lifestyle Insider Chopard Cœur pendant in ethical 18 kt white gold set with pear-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds - totalling 2.15cts

Lace – a treasured possession

Just as the collection plays with diamond light and lightness, with shape and form and space, so the theme itself plays with concepts of preciousness, and with the fusion of jewels and fabric, as well as the relationship between Haute Joaillerie and Haute Couture. The art of lacemaking was perfected in 16th century Venice, from where it spread across Europe to centres in Belgium, France, Spain and England, taking on different characteristics, in different styles. Lace, so meticulously and skilfully hand-made, was prized as a rich adornment to costume, for collars, cuffs, caps and ruffles, worn by royalty and nobility. It was thus regarded as a much-treasured, valuable possession particularly by the great Renaissance rulers, including Elizabeth I. Like jewels and gems, lace thus became a symbol of status and power.

Lifestyle Insider Chopard Precious Lace heart pendant being made

In these jewels, the effect of exquisite hand-made lace is re-created by the interplay of pear-shaped and round brilliant-cut diamonds, using their shapes and their silhouettes within the openwork space in each design, to bring a lilting rhythm, playful fluidity and contemporary stylisation to the essential classicism of the theme. The delicacy of lace is replicated by the extreme precision of the goldwork, the slender mounts and airiness that serve to highlight the radiance of the diamonds, and at the same time, showcase the supreme skill of the Maison’s in-house artisans. Expertise similar to that of the nimble-fingered seamstresses referred to as petites mains in the field of Haute Couture, with which Chopard shares a number of core values: an array of eminently noble materials, a flair for details, a commitment to wearer comfort, and above all, an authentic love for women.

Lifestyle Insider Chopard Mini-Froufrou bangle bracelet in ethical 18 kt rose gold set with pear-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds - totalling 1.85ct

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Priya Kumari Rana

Lifestyle Insider is a kind of junction point, connecting people with diverse interests that touch on the more luxurious aspects of lifestyle – fashion, design, travel, food and spirits, art, watches and jewellery, cars, yachts, and aviation, and technology. People today don’t fit into boxes and categories. In our individual ways, we are interested in diverse themes, products, and the challenges that face our world today. You will judge how well this effort of mine caters to your passions and proclivities.

Lifestyle Insider is a showcase of all that is beautiful and luxe. Behind every creation, is a designer, chef, entrepreneur, or a design maison. I have delved into my own appreciation for objetsde luxe that I have admired over the years – be it a love of fashion from the world’s top Parisian and Italian fashion maisons and their ’90s muses, or the care that goes into sari and Indian textile collections in my own family. Growing up on four continents, as the daughter of a former Indian Ambassador, I’ve seen a remarkable array of historic places and met a myriad people. My aim is to bring my world view into this website, a curation of what I find particularly stunning, unique, and newsworthy.

It’s an exciting time for brands all over the world. With change comes opportunity. With the global ‘reset’ and uncertainty on many fronts, there is a chance to write a new script. Let’s be those pioneers.

A bit about me:
A luxury and fashion journalist with 25 years of experience in publishing and magazine journalism, I have edited some of India’s top fashion and luxury magazines. I got my BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and went on to receive my Master’s in English and French from the University of Strasbourg, France. I have also studied German and Film. I live in Gurugram, India, and look forward to once again exploring our world with a new-found freedom.

Priya Kumari Rana

Founder and Editor
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