Chopard adds first handbag to Happy Diamonds collection

The quilted design pays tribute to the facets of a diamond, while five pink opals spin between two sapphire crystals in the clasp

Happy Diamonds bag. Courtesy Chopard
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The first handbag to become part of Chopard's four-decade-old Happy Diamonds collection, this cheery red purse pays tribute to the maison's jewellery and watchmaking prowess.

Its quilted design is an homage to the collection’s namesake gemstone, with the swirling pattern designed to evoke the facets of a diamond. The lines etched along the full-grain leather naturally draw the eye to the rose-gold-plated clasp, which is inspired by the watches in the Happy collection, pieces that, famously, have precious stones skittering around the dial. Accordingly, five freewheeling pink opals spin between two sapphire crystals, while the pink-gold-plated guilloche rosette background also resembles the sun-like face of the timepieces.

Happy Diamonds bag. Courtesy Chopard
Happy Diamonds bag. Courtesy Chopard

The Happy handbag is but one of numerous new objects that the brand unveiled at Baselworld last month. Extensions of the same collection include: Happy Dreams pendants and rings with a textured mother-of-pearl backdrop; bracelets and bangles from the Happy Hearts line rendered in black Tahitian mother-of-pearl and silvery opal; and a 25th-anniversary edition of the Happy Sport timepiece, newly available with a blue or pink dial.

Chopard also launched a 30th anniversary iteration of its Mille Miglia timepieces, named for the famed car rally that the Swiss brand has partnered with since 1988. The 2018 Race Edition features a dial and counters inspired by the dashboards of historic race cars. This year's Red Carpet high-jewellery collection, meanwhile, celebrates Chopard's collaboration with the Cannes film festival – the maison has crafted the Palme d'Or trophy for 20 years. It includes a bracelet composed of faceted tanzanite with an opal that slides away to reveal a hidden dial; and a choker with brown and cognac diamonds, inspired by the glamorous outfits and jewels worn by women in the 1920s, as immortalised in F Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel, The Great Gatsby.

Additions have also been made to the Ice Cube collection, a line that Rihanna contributed to last year. While the singer opted to render the signature rectangular cubes in a shade of jungle green, inspired by the lush gardens of her island hometown of Barbados, the new asymmetrical earrings and necklaces take on a two-toned pattern, rendered in 18K rose and white gold this time around.

Most importantly, Chopard made waves at Basel when it pledged to become the first global watch and jewellery house to use only responsibly sourced gold, starting from July. The brand's Green Carpet collections have been promoting the use of Fairmined gold since the initiative was first launched by firebrand artistic director Caroline Scheufele in 2013, in association with Livia Firth, the founder of Eco-Age and the Green Carpet Challenge. Also, as a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council, in October 2015, Chopard pledged to buy 100 per cent of the gold extracted by two ethical mines in Bolivia and Colombia, and has done much in the interim to responsibly source its gold and diamonds whenever possible. This recent announcement, then, is a natural step forward – but one that's in keeping with both Chopard's ethical aesthetic and the growing interest in conscious consumerism and sustainable luxury.

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