Chopard has unveiled its most precious jewellery set yet, which it created with an ultra-rare 342-carat diamond that was discovered in Botswana.

The ‘Queen of Kalahari’, an exceptional 342-carat stone of perfect colour and absolute purity, was discovered at a mine in Karowe, owned by Lucara Diamond.

The mine is a Chopard supplier and follows Eco-Age’s independent Green Carpet Challenge, which mirrors best international environmental and social-justice practices.

The stone was christened the Queen of Kalahari by Chopard’s Co-President Caroline Scheufele and gave rise to a set of 23 diamonds dubbed ‘The Garden of Kalahari’, of which five weigh over 20 carats. 

Drawing upon the virtuosity cultivated in the field of artistic craft that has forged Chopard’s reputation, six fabulous pieces of jewellery have emerged from the high jewellery workshops of the Swiss maison.


DISCOVERY OF A TREASURE 

“I immediately sensed that this was an incredibly rare gem of exceptional beauty and purity,” says Scheufele, recalling her first encounter with the diamond found at the heart of the deposit mined in Karowe, Botswana. 

The Queen of Kalahari combines D colour – the most beautiful – with grade F (flawless) clarity. 

“The energy and emotional charge emanating from this gem are truly incomparable”, enthuses Scheufele, who immediately travelled to the mine to admire the diamond discovered a year ago. 

She then personally supervised each stage in its development, thereby giving rise to the most prestigious jewellery ever to emerge from the Chopard’s high jewellery workshops. 


CREATIVE AUDACITY

As Scheufele explains: “This is a truly exceptional stone, but we did not wish to treat it as a mere trophy, but instead to prepare it for a destiny worthy of its stature.” Entrusted to the peerless expertise of Chopard’s ateliers, the 342-carat diamond found its most eloquent expression in an extraordinary ensemble of 23 diamonds: Each of these gems, like the diamond from which they originate, is of absolute colour and purity. 

Among these 23 diamonds, five weigh more than 20 carats and each of the main stone cuts – cushion, brilliant, heart, emerald and pear – is represented. 

Around these five stones, Scheufele built a daring and dancing network of poetic and metaphorical symbols. Through her eyes, the radiant 50-carat brilliant cut became a sunflower, the 26-carat heart shape a delicate pansy, and the 25-carat pear shape a majestic banana blossom. As for the perfect 20-carat cushion cut, it indulges in a gentle tête-à-tête with the flaming poppy, while the 21-carat emerald cut floats idly alongside a water lily. Shapes, echoes, reflections and colours entwine in an enchanting scene, an extraordinary garden where poetry, light and radiance are the only rules. 

From the five diamonds, the extraordinary collection of six pieces of jewellery was dreamed up. The collection represents almost a full year’s work: thousands of hours lavished on this endeavour by the eyes, hearts and hands of the Chopard jewellery artisans and gem-setters.


THE JEWELS 

The centrepiece of this collection, The Garden of Kalahari necklace testifies to the ingenuity and the playful spirit governing Chopard design. 

This model is playfully interpreted in four variations, the first of which is a gorgeous and supremely modern choker to be worn alone. An entirely invisible mechanism means it can be detached in the centre and adorned with an exquisite flower to form a more sophisticated version. 

And for festive evenings, this flower itself serves to attach three majestically beautiful pendants, since they are adorned with the three biggest diamonds in The Garden of Kalahari: the 50-carat brilliant-cut, 26-carat heart-shaped and 25-carat pear-shaped gems. Each of these ‘attachments’ can be worn alone or together, culminating in the perfect necklace with all three at once. 

Two of these pendants – the heart-shaped and pear-shaped diamonds – can attached to the earrings, thus creating a spectacular set matching the necklace, adorned (or not) with the flower and the brilliant-cut diamond. 

The earrings can also be worn without the diamonds, for a more discreet version. 

This collection is further enriched by a cuff bracelet adorned with two emerald-cut diamonds; two rings of which one bears the 20-carat cushion-cut diamond; and of course an astonishing secret watch that is as delicate by nature as it was to create. 

The Garden of Kalahari collection is entirely built around the idea of a jewellery lacework like diamond guipure lace with a luminous cut-out motif; this has become Chopard signature in high jewellery as initially developed in the Precious Chopard collection.

“The ateliers really outshone themselves in working on this exceptional project and the synergies among the different crafts were further strengthened by the process,” she says. 

Chopard adds that the Garden of Kalahari testifies to the virtuosity of the artisans involved in its conception, as well as in the genius that was essential to its development under the aegis of Caroline Scheufele.